The LGV SEA brings high-speed rail service to southwestern France and connects the regions of Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Occitanie with the high-speed rail service of Northern Europe, which connects Paris to London, Brussels, Amsterdam and beyond.

The trip between Paris and Bordeaux takes around two hours and ten minutes at a top speed of 320 km/h (199 mph).

The inter-city links between Tours, Poitiers, Angoulême, and Bordeaux are also improved, and southwestern France is better connected to various parts of the country and to the rest of Europe.

The line was built by consortium LISEA consisting of Vinci Concessions - 33.4%, Caisse des dépôts et consignations - 25.4%, Meridiam - 22.0% and Ardian - 19.2%.

[2] Another €1.2 billion was spent by SNCF Réseau on the construction of interconnecting lines, control centres, capacity enhancements at Bordeaux and remodelling the track layout at Gare Montparnasse.

For this reason the French government announced additional funding in February 2009 to build Phases 1 and 2 together.

[4] [citation needed] On 30 July 2010, the French government announced that work on the section to the Spanish border was expected to begin before 2020.