{"id":249212,"date":"2025-07-10T17:44:31","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T07:44:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=63976"},"modified":"2025-07-10T17:44:31","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T07:44:31","slug":"france-italy-rail-freight-traffic-still-well-below-pre-landslide-levels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=249212","title":{"rendered":"France-Italy rail freight traffic still well-below \u2018pre-landslide\u2019 levels"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rail freight between France and Italy via the Fr\u00e9jus Tunnel remains well-below the levels recorded before a major landslide struck in August 2023, leading to the closure of the line for a period of 19 months, according to a senior industry executive. Combined rail-road transport in particular, which accounts for an estimated 40% of freight transported by train between France and Italy, has been particularly hard-hit by the closure.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>While traffic has been slowly picking up since the line\u2019s re-opening at the end of March, in an interview with French media, Rapha\u00ebl Doutrebente, the president of France\u2019s 4F rail freight industry alliance, put the shortfall at approximately 50%. Doutrebente, who also heads French private rail operator Europorte, also highlighted the drop in automotive-related traffic transported on the route, as a result of a sharp downturn in the industry in Europe. His comments were confirmed to RailFreight.com by the company.<\/p>\n

DB Cargo France CEO Alexandre Gallo agreed with Doutrebente\u2019s analysis but reckoned that current rail freight traffic volumes were probably closer to 40% of pre-closure levels (than 50%). At the end of last month, the line suffered another setback with severe weather and a mudslide leading to its closure. The incident brought into sharp relief the line\u2019s apparent susceptibility to extreme meteorological episodes which, to a backdrop of climate change, could become a more regular occurrence.<\/p>\n

Restricted traffic for a while longer<\/h2>\n

Passenger traffic resumed on 5 July, followed by freight activity on 7 July albeit with restrictions. Gallo revealed that freight trains were presently operating to limited schedules because not all of the service tracks had been restored after the mudslide. \u201cWe are also having to deal with track works in the Maurienne Valley, so we can’t run trains when we\u2019d like to. We have resumed traffic for our customer T3M (part of the Open Modal group), but are having to deal with a strike by Captrain Italia set to last until 11 July\u201d, he said. SNCF R\u00e9seau, France\u2019s infrastructure manager, is said to be expecting a full return to normal by the middle of this month but this has not been confirmed.<\/p>\n