Hundreds of travelers were stranded Friday night in Marseille and Toulon, the train traffic is stopped, since the beginning of the afternoon and for an indefinite period, because of a gas leak at La Ciotat in the Bouches- du-Rhône.
"A pipeline was damaged and the authorities have banned all train traffic between Marseille and Toulon" since 16H38, said a spokesman for the railway company. "The gas operator can not make any specific commitment" as to the time when conditions will be met for the trains to run again, he added.
Hundreds of travelers were stranded, but many were able to continue their journey on their own or were cared for by relatives. The SNCF, which promises to refund 100% tickets, distributed meals and sets up "oars of rest" in Marseille, Toulon and Nice for those who would be forced to sleep on the spot. Their number was not yet determined at 10:45 pm, he said.
Wrecked rail
At the Saint-Charles station, a billboard invited travelers to "postpone (their) trip" shortly before 11 pm, a journalist said. An agent offered to those who have no other solution to spend the night in trains TGV, parked along three platforms. This is what was preparing to do a passenger who left Strasbourg at 13:40 for St. Raphael. "The last time in January, a tree fell on a catenary and we had to sleep in Toulon, it's not the SNCF's fault," she said resignedly.
"We can not even know if we can take a taxi or go to the hotel because we do not know who will pay," says a German retiree, Ina Grieb, also arrived from Strasbourg, en route to Antibes (Alpes-Maritimes). Maritimes). "And everything is closed, I can not even find a glass of wine!"
When questioned, firefighters in the Bouches-du-Rhone reported intervening for a "gas leak due to the tearing of a pipe by a backhoe loader". "Twenty firefighters have been mobilized" to "protect the perimeter against any risk of explosion or fire," said a spokeswoman. The gas operator, GRTGaz has indicated for its part be "on the job since the end of the afternoon (...) to ensure, safely, a return to normal as soon as possible", and specifies that the incident was caused by a third gear.