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South of France rail line reopens after 50 years

After one of the busiest summers ever recorded on French railways, a regional line in southern France has reopened, with local authorities saying they hope to cut car-use in the area.

Published: 29 August 2022 14:24 CEST
South of France rail line reopens after 50 years
A local Mayor Jean-Yves Chapelet applauds the reopening of the line between Pont-Saint-Esprit and Nimes on the right bank of the Rhone River on August 28, 2022. (Photo by Christophe SIMON / AFP)

The south-east French cities of Pont-Saint-Esprit, Avignon and Nîmes are once again connected by a direct train after the first reopening of a regional (TER) line since 2016 in France. 

Having been exclusively used for freight trains since 1973, the line was closed due to competition with vehicles during the ‘all-car’ era. It used to serve passengers along the right bank of the Rhone river, linking Givors, in the Rhone, to Nîmes in the Gard.

France once enjoyed one of the richest rail networks in Europe, but in the last century it has seen some 20,000 kilometers of lines closed to passenger service, explained geographer Etienne Auphan to regional newspaper Nice Matin.

France’s transport minister, Clément Beaune congratulated the region for the reopening of the line.

The reopening of the line will allow the 75,000 inhabitants of the greater Nîmes area to save up to 40 percent of their travel time to Avignon, when compared to the time spent driving during rush hour. Regional daily La Provence estimates that at least 70,000 cars cross the bridges over the Rhone between the Gard and Avignon every day.

Regional authorities in Occitanie have been pushing for the reopening of the line as both a tool for regional development and a way to decrease carbon emissions. The project cost about €100 million, with the objective of opening five other stations along the line and encouraging at least 200,000 passengers per year to take the line.

The other stations are expected to reopen by 2026.

Laurette Bastaroli, a retired quality technician who has campaigned for the return of the train, sees the project as a way of combating the climate crisis in response to IPCC reports.

She told Nice Matin that the reopening of this 82-kilometre line “is a bit like winning the battle of the railroad.”

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STRIKES

Ryanair cancels 300 flights set to fly over France due to strike

The budget airline Ryanair announced on Wednesday that it had been forced to cancel more than 300 flights set to fly over French airspace on Thursday, due to strike action by air traffic controllers that was cancelled at the last-minute.

Published: 25 April 2024 08:47 CEST
Ryanair cancels 300 flights set to fly over France due to strike

In a press release published on Wednesday, Ryanair announced that 300 of their flights had been cancelled due to a planned strike by French air traffic controllers (ATC).

“Even though it’s French ATC that are striking, most disrupted passengers are not flying to/from France but overfly French airspace en route to their destination (e.g., UK – Greece, Spain, Italy),” the company said.

According to Ryanair estimates, 50,000 passengers would be affected in some way. 

The main union participating in the strike announced on Wednesday morning that it had reached a deal with management and would be calling off industrial action, but the announcement came too late and many flights had already been cancelled. 

As a result, significant delays and widespread cancellations were still expected on Thursday.

READ MORE: ‘75% of flights cancelled’: Which French airports will be worst affected by Thursday’s disruption?

Why are overflights affected?

The overflights pass through French airspace on their way to another country, and they make up a significant percentage of the flights handled by French air traffic controllers on a daily basis.

During strikes by French air traffic controllers, overflights are likely to be delayed or diverted as airlines seek alternatives routes that go around France, rather than over it. Often, there are also cancellations, as is the case for Ryanair. 

Can I still get a refund due to a delay or cancellation of an overflight?

In terms of compensation, it makes little difference whether your flight is to/from France or simply over it, as EU compensation rules apply to all flights that either arrive at or depart from an airport in the EU/Schengen zone, or are operated by an EU-registered carrier.

Find full details on your rights and how to claim refunds HERE.

Are there plans to protect overflights?

Ryanair has been pushing for greater overflight protection for a long time, and they made several calls for change during the 2023 protests against pension reform when a number of air traffic control strikes were called.

READ MORE: Cancellations and compensation: How French strikes affect European flights

In their Wednesday memo, the company called again for the EU Commission to take action to protect overflights.

“French air traffic controllers are free to go on strike, that’s their right, but we should be cancelling French flights, not flights leaving Ireland, going to Italy, or flights from Germany to Spain or Scandinavia to Portugal.

“The European Commission under Ursula von der Leyen has failed for 5 years to take any action to protect overflights and the single market for air travel. We’re again calling on her to take action to protect overflights which will eliminate over 90 percent of these flight cancellations,” Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary said in the memo.

The company has also released a petition to ‘‘Protect Overflights: Keep EU Skies Open’, which has over 2.1m signatures.

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