Emergency work continues on an endangered structure between Fontan and Saint-Dalmas-de-Tende -

SNCF Réseau

  • Relaunched after initial work on October 19, at very low speed, the TER serving the Roya valley had to be stopped again on November 28 following the discovery of the weakening of an engineering structure, struck by the floods.

  • The reopening of the Nice-Tende rail line, scheduled for January 18, is finally no longer possible before spring, announces SNCF Réseau.

  • Reinforcement work under the rails must continue.

SNCF executives were hopeful of being able to relaunch traffic from one end of the Nice-Tende line to the other on Monday, January 18.

But three and a half months after the murderous and devastating flood in the valleys of the Alpes-Maritimes, the work launched in Roya, along the railways between Fontan and Saint-Dalmas-de-Tende, promises to be even more complex than expected. .

Struck by the fury of the waters on October 3, an "arcade wall" supporting the rails required additional reinforcement.

And a return to service is now not envisaged… before spring.

Leaving the disaster victims with the only temporary roads open in an emergency.

Relaunched after initial work on October 19, at very low speed, the TER had to be stopped again on November 28 following the discovery of the weakening of this engineering structure, whose foot of the embankment had been washed away by flooding .

"Not totally stabilized"

“The work on the rest of the line could have allowed us to return to normal on January 18th.

But movements are still observed on this wall, revealed this Friday the territorial director of SNCF Réseau Karim Touati.

The work undertaken on October 4 has already made it possible to divide these movements by three.

They have slowed down considerably and it is rather reassuring.

However, the structure is not completely stabilized.

"

Since the disaster, this century-old viaduct, erected one kilometer after the Fontan-Saorge station, continues to sink and slide towards the bed of the river, the Roya.

"The structure has compacted by 3 cm, but studies show that it has not suffered major damage," says the manager.

The teams on site still need to protect the bank and secure the wall using a deeply anchored netting.

The river bed has already been diverted and 6,000 m3 of riprap have been deposited at the foot of the structure.

The repairs, carried out by a hundred people who work “3-8”, seven days a week, are recalled on the wall and with the support of helicopters.

They have recently been slowed down by the vagaries of winter weather.

A project costing 30 million euros

"It is estimated that the wall will be completely stabilized around February 15," advance Karim Touati.

Then it will take several more weeks to ensure the continuity of the line, in complete safety.

»That is, check the integrity of the ballast and the rails.

Which points to a likely opening, at best, in early spring.

The cost of reconstruction, borne by the region, the State, the department, SNCF Réseau and insurers, is estimated at 30 million euros, half of which to repair this wall.

North of Tende, the Italian line taking the pass to descend into Italian Piedmont is however operational and traffic normal, said SNCF Réseau.

Downstream from Breil-sur-Roya towards the sea and Ventimiglia, "the storm washed away the way for several hundred meters", according to Karim Touati.

"Work and studies have been launched" but the division of tasks with the Italians not fixed.

Society

What if the flood had saved a railway line in the Alpes-Maritimes?

Alpes-Maritimes

Record donations to the Secours populaire for those affected by storm Alex, in particular thanks to Julien Doré

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