More than a month after the collapse of a cliff section on August 27 in the Maurienne Valley, rail traffic has not resumed in the area. Worse, it should not be restored "for a short year," announced the prefect of Savoie, François Ravier at a press conference on Friday.
TGVs will therefore only run to Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne and Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. Then, buses will transport travelers to the ski resorts.
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If the inhabitants are directly concerned by this measure, tourism stakeholders are already worried about the impact on holidaymakers. Three TGVs connect the Maurienne to the winter sports resorts every weekend during the Christmas holidays. This train journey will no longer be provided to Modane, but to Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne. Then, buses will take over to stations such as Valloire, Valmeinier, Valfréjus, Aussois, La Norma, etc., says the SNCF, quoted by France Bleu.
On the other hand, the pace of buses and schedules during the February holidays, peak attendance, still need to be specified. Normally, up to ten round trips by TGV are provided.
The A43 was able to reopen
For its part, the Italian railway company Trenitalia will restore from this Sunday, October 1, a third daily round trip between Paris and Lyon, instead of two per day. This takeover will allow travelers to "make the round trip on the same day," Trenitalia said in a statement.
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The A43 motorway, located between Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne and Le Freney, was able to reopen on 11 September. The Fréjus road tunnel is open to all light and heavy vehicles.
An entire section of a cliff broke off in the Savoyard valley, a few kilometers before the Fréjus tunnel. No injuries were reported but road and rail traffic, particularly to Italy, were severely disrupted. On September 24, helicopters were to drop huge amounts of water over the cliff of Le Praz in order to purge 3,000 to 4,000 cubic meters that were still in danger of collapsing.
