Tours-Bordeaux almost done, news on other LGV's

Tracklaying completed on French high-speed line | International Railway Journal -- they'll still have to do the ballasting and electrification, though that should be done by this summer. It should open mid-2017.

This 302-km Tours-Bordeaux line will have 1400 km and 84,000 metric tons of rail in 108-m segments, 1.1 million ties, 3 million metric tons of ballast, and 14,000 overhead-cable masts.

It's the LGV Sud Europe Atlantique - Wikipedia (South-Europe LGV). Also the LGV Sud-Ouest, (the Southwest LGV).

The other LGV's in various states of construction and planning. Here are the under-construction ones:

LGV Bretagne-Pays de la Loire - Wikipedia: Le Mans - Rennes (westward). From the French version, service should start in 15 May 2017.
LGV Est - Wikipedia: Paris - Baudrecourt - Strasbourg. The first segment is done, while the second segment is still under construction. It was originally scheduled to open on 3 April 2016, but because of the accident late last year, it may open around July.
Contournement Nîmes – Montpellier - Wikipedia, the Nîmes - Montpellier Bypass, a mixed-use line. It should be done by the end of 2017.
Turin–Lyon high-speed railway - Wikipedia -- construction started in 2015 and it should take 10 years.
I consulted the French versions for additional info.

July opening date confirmed for TGV Est Phase 2 | International Railway Journal
It's July 3.
A 25-km part of the 106-km line will initially be single-tracked to accommodate repairs after the derailment at Eckwersheim last year.

Route approved for Montpellier - Perpignan HSL | International Railway Journal

FRENCH transport minister Mr Alain Vidalies has approved the preliminary route and station locations for the 150km Montpellier - Perpignan high-speed line, paving the way for a public inquiry into the project, which is expected to begin at the end of this year.

So they are going ahead with that one also.

SNCF restarts LGV Est testing | International Railway Journal

FRENCH National Railways (SNCF) resumed dynamic testing on the second phase of the LGV Est high-speed line from Baudrecourt to Vendenheim on February 29. It had suspended testing following the accident at Eckwersheim on November 14 2015.

They are now shooting for opening on July 3. They will test the track and catenary first, and then the radio and signaling. The accident location will not be subject to these tests.

TGV Bretagne-Pays de la Loire timetable revealed | International Railway Journal -- as of Monday, April 11, 2016, it has 450 days before it opens. From the article, "The 182km high-speed line from Le Mans to Rennes is due to open on July 2 2017." It is an extension of the LGV Atlantique branch to Le Mans, and trains on it can travel as fast as 320 km/h.

Like other TGV's on the LGV Atlantique line, the new line's trains will operate out of Paris's Gare de Montparnasse. Some travel times from Paris:
Rennes: 2h 4m to 1h 25m
St. Malo: 2h 56m to 2h 14m
Brest: 4h 11m to 3h 25m

It must be noted that France's LGV's are in three disconnected segments:

• LGV Atlantique
• LGV Nord, LGV Est, and LGV Sud-Est, connected by LGV Interconnexion Est near Paris
• The Besançon-Mulhouse LGV

I've seen proposals for a LGV Interconnexion Sud to connect the LGV Atlantique and LGV Sud-Est lines.

French State Council backs Bordeaux - Toulouse/Dax high-speed lines | International Railway Journal
Announced on May 25. They will be announcing a Declaration of Public Utility on June 8.

The Tours-Bordeaux LGV is still on track for 2017, and they plan to extend it to Toulouse in 2024, Dax in 2027, and maybe also Hendaye on the border with Spain around 2032.

It's the Grand Southwestern Railway Project (GPSO -- Grand Projet Sud-Ouest).

Commercial operations begin on TGV Est Phase 2 | International Railway Journal -- Paris-Strasbourg travel time is now a bit less than 2 hours. However, about 27 km of track near Eckwersheim will be single-tracked as repairs continue after the derailment some months back.

Testing begins on TGV Sud Europ Atlantique It is now in the middle part of the line. It started at low speeds early in July and it's up to about 160 km/s. It will be gradually increased to its top speed. The overhead cable should be energized for the northern and southern parts in September. No word on when service is expected to start.

Hollande inaugurates Sud Europe Atlantique high-speed line
A completion-of-infrastructure ceremony.

The line is expected to open July 2, and cut the Paris-Bordeaux trip time from 3h 14m to 2h 4m. The line is 302km long, with 39km of connections to existing tracks.

The Erfurt to Nürnburg NBS should be completed some time this year finishing the work to connect Berlin to München with ABS/NBS and significantly reducing running time.

Also the UK has committed linking London with Birmingham as the first phase of HS2 high speed line.