We must expect further inconvenience for those who have to travel by train between Italy and France. Two weeks after the landslide in the Maurienne valley, Transport Minister Clément Beaune stressed that the return to normal of high-speed rail traffic was still far away.
This represents at least two months, if not more, of suspension of rail traffic. Everything must first be cleared to access the railway tunnel, then go and inspect the damage and intervene.
Trenitalia confirms on its official website that traffic between Modane and Chambéry continues to be suspended. “There is currently no forecast regarding the restoration of line functionality,” reads the site, which also indicates which trains have been canceled.
Trenitalia specifies, however, that traffic with the Frecciarossa between Paris and Lyon continues regularly.
Maintenance work on the Mont Blanc tunnel will also begin in a few days, postponed to avoid blockages after the landslide. “They will undoubtedly have a shorter duration” compared to forecasts of extraordinary interventions, explained Beaune. “It will last around 7 weeks instead of the 15 planned,” he said. In the meantime, the Fréjus tunnel has reopened to heavy traffic.
