What is often forgotten in this kind of story is that building direct lines between big cities tends to asphyxiate whatever sits in between.
Ruffec is about 2/3rds of the way between Paris and Bordeaux. The TGV that goes from Paris to Bordeaux used to have a stop in Ruffec. Not any more, because they had to build a completely new line for the last leg of the trip, that goes through the countryside.
In fact there are now ZERO direct trains from Paris to Ruffec; to get there you need to change trains at Poitiers, which can be complicated if you're old or you have lots of luggage. The train from Poitiers to Ruffec is a regional one that stops everywhere. Going from Paris to Ruffec used to take less than 2 hours and now takes at least 3.
So high speed train isn't about helping transform urbanites into country people; it's about moving urbanites around.
Ruffec is about 2/3rds of the way between Paris and Bordeaux. The TGV that goes from Paris to Bordeaux used to have a stop in Ruffec. Not any more, because they had to build a completely new line for the last leg of the trip, that goes through the countryside.
In fact there are now ZERO direct trains from Paris to Ruffec; to get there you need to change trains at Poitiers, which can be complicated if you're old or you have lots of luggage. The train from Poitiers to Ruffec is a regional one that stops everywhere. Going from Paris to Ruffec used to take less than 2 hours and now takes at least 3.
So high speed train isn't about helping transform urbanites into country people; it's about moving urbanites around.