{"id":145016,"date":"2024-10-29T19:08:08","date_gmt":"2024-10-29T09:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=57485"},"modified":"2024-10-29T19:08:08","modified_gmt":"2024-10-29T09:08:08","slug":"frejus-railway-restoration-to-start-in-december","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=145016","title":{"rendered":"Frejus Railway restoration to start in December"},"content":{"rendered":"

Works to secure the cliff above the section of the Frejus Railway damaged by a landslide in August 2023 will last until December. Only after that, the French infrastructure manager SNCF R\u00e9seau will begin railway restoration operations. The reopening of the line, the main border crossing between Italy and France, remains for the first quarter of 2025.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>The cost for securing the 250-metre-tall cliff and purging the 10,000 cubic metres of rocks left by the landslide will revolve around 13 million euros, as the French Department of Savoie noted. The expense will be split between the Department, SNCF R\u00e9seau and Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 fran\u00e7aise du tunnel routier du Fr\u00e9jus, the company responsible for the Frejus road tunnel.<\/p>\n

Complications cause delays<\/h2>\n

The expected date of reopening of the Frejus Railway was pushed back due to a situation more complicated than initially thought. \u201cUnstable and deep cavities, discovered (…) in the central area of \u200b\u200bthe slope following mining operations, required additional work to purge, anchor and install fences\u201d, the Department of Savoie explained. Various purging techniques needed to be deployed, from using dynamite to manually using a crowbar.<\/p>\n

If the railway should be reopened within the first three months of 2025, it seems that the road section will have to wait a little longer. The cliff above the road will not be secured until the first quarter of next year, meaning that reconstruction works cannot start before mid-2025. Moreover, the rail tunnel was not damaged by the landslide, which would have likely caused the infrastructure to be unavailable for a longer period of time.<\/p>\n