Ten months of limited service announced for major train route in south of France
Works on the SNCF line will run for 10 months and completely stop evening services on several days
Works will cost around €20 million
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A major international train route between France and Italy will be closed in the evenings for 10 months for key works to take place on the line.
The route between Nice and Ventimiglia (just over the Italian border) will see works take place between September 15 and June 26 next year.
No trains will run along the route – which passes through Monaco – in both directions between 21:00 and 06:00 for five nights per week during these dates.
Trains will continue to run late on Friday and Saturday nights, keeping roughly to current schedules.
The closures will affect not only local TER services between the cities, but Intercités trains, high speed TGVs, and freight between the two countries.
The route is not only a busy commuter line, but popular with tourists based in the French Riviera who opt to take a day trip to Monaco or Italy.
“These are necessary works [that are only] carried out every 50 years,” said the SNCF, France’s national rail operator. “They are exceptional,” it adds.
Works will include the reinstallation of electrical equipment on the line between Nice and Menton (on the French side of the border), as well as vital works on the tunnel by Eze station.
Villefranche-sur-mer (a popular stop with tourists) will see works carried out to improve accessibility for disabled users.
The expected cost of the works is around €20 million.
The region is also being hit by a 16-month pause in services between Nice and the surrounding valleys up to Tende.
Read more: Why was there a SNCF strike on Nice-Breil-Tende line this week and are more expected?
Single replacement bus service
During the course of the works, the SNCF will run an ‘exceptional bus service’ in the evening between Monaco and Nice.
It will be free for workers, however they will have to provide a ‘Pass Travaux’ (justification of work from their employer) and proof of a purchased season ticket to enter the bus.
Non-workers will not be able to access the bus, which will leave Monaco at 23:30 and arrive in Nice just after midnight.
