Its open to key players in the Rhin-Rhône region and offers a forum to explore the opportunities that this TGV project could create for their region and their company.

The TGV is a key tool for economic development. It is local policymakers and stakeholders, however, who get organised around the new transport offer that makes the tool work. At the SNCF, we are well aware of this fact, which is why we created the first TGV Club when the TGV Est-européen project was launched. The aim was to anticipate the key opportunities for growth but also to analyse the risks for regions and companies that might fail to prepare for change.

The new feature of the TGV Rhin-Rhône is that it is the first high-speed rail link not be focused on Paris. People and companies based in Dijon will enjoy direct connections with Strasbourg. Belfort-Montbéliard and Besançon will be fully drawn into the European high-speed rail network. Mulhouse, which is located at the eastern end of the TGV Est line, will form a Rhin-Rhône services hub. The TGV connection between these cities will open up new possibilities for cooperation. The TGV Rhin-Rhône Club is inviting all the region's players to get involved in new initiatives, in anticipation of all the new opportunities that will open up after December 2011.

Ready to go! The first local groups were founded over the summer of 2009 and have already got to work on the key areas they identified. All the groups have focused on economic development and attracting new businesses into the area, alongside the promotion of tourism and cultural heritage. The Dijon-Bourgogne-Côte d'Or grouping has also added territorial marketing. Besançon-Franche Comté wants to attract new residents to the area. The Belfort-Montbéliard group is already thinking about new services that could be developed around a new showcase rail station. The Mulhouse-Alsace body, with its specific geographical location, has started to look into international relations and cross-border cooperation.

A whole range of initiatives to keep an eye on...

A model station First railway carbon footprint