€7.33 Billion euros will be the cost to slash mere minutes between Bordeuax and Tours

France is under pressure, rumours abound regarding its banks, its credit rating and the losses still being committed from the national coffers to somehow ease the plight of the doomed Euro.

Yet work is just beginning on a seven billion euro project designed to shave mere minutes from the jouney time by rail between Tours and Bordeaux, as blogged about here yesterday and earlier today.

As promised, here are some pictures, taken this afternoon, of the work in progress in the still charming Charente countryside between Mouthiers and Porcheresse.

 

The village of Voulgezac before work starts on the quarry and landfill behind.

A works depot under construction at Pérignac Déchetterie

Deforestation at Porcheresse

A high-speed train ambles its way along a viaduct giving today's passengers superb views of the Boëme River vally

The biggest single project of the whole entirely wasteful scheme will be a 1319 metre bridge crossing of the Gironde River, which this recent article from Sud-Ouest decribes on this link.

This blog will explore alternatives for a less costly speedier trans-EU link, ignoring the glories of former capitals in the coming days!