Train access to French Alps to remain disrupted through ski season

Access to several French ski resorts in the Alps will be limited this season, due to damage caused by a summer landslide.

Published: 1 December 2023 17:27 CET

Train access to French Alps to remain disrupted through ski season

French trains in the snow, in Strasbourg in 2021. (AFP / PATRICK HERTZOG)

People looking to reach the ski resorts of Valfréjus, Val-Cenis, Aussois and La Norma might experience additional difficulties if travelling by train during winter 2023-2024.

A landslide hit the town of Saint-André in the Haute-Maurienne Vanoise area in August, taking out portions of the train tracks that are needed to get to higher altitude ski towns and resorts.

It also damaged tracks that would normally connect France to the Italian cities of Turin and Milan.

“Rail traffic between Saint-Michel-Valloire and Modane will be interrupted for an unknown period of time. SNCF Voyageurs is doing everything it can to ensure the best possible service to this area,” French national rail services, SNCF, said at the time of the incident.

As of early December – when SNCF normally opens several stations for their ‘TGV ski’ plan – the tracks had not yet been repaired.

Consequently, the terminus for the route (both for TGV and TER trains, according to France Bleu) that once ended at the Modane station will now conclude at Saint-Michel-Valloire instead due to the damages.

SNCF Services plan (Source: SNCF Réseau)

SNCF told Le Parisien that bus shuttles would be made available to take travellers to the stations between Saint-Michel-Valloire and Modane.

The buses will be operated by the Auvergne Rhône Alpes regional authorities and the transport group Transdev.

The head of Transdev Savoie, Nicolas Prouvot, told Le Parisien that they will be “allocating additional human and material resources. Those normally located at Modane will be transferred to Saint-Michel. We are also in the process of recruiting thirty drivers to meet demand.”

If you plan to travel on this line, you can find the schedule for the bus replacement services here.

Concerns about the Saint-Michel-Valloire station

Unions worry that the new terminus station is too small to handle a large influx of travellers, as is anticipated during the February school holidays.

Nevertheless – SNCF still plans to run approximately 10 trips to and from the station during the school holidays (between February 10th and March 11th), according to reporting by Le Parisien, after consulting an internal company document.

Each of the weekends, aside from that of February 24th were expected to run all planned trips, the French daily reported.

Railway workers, like Julien Troccaz, head of the SUD Rail union, are not so sure this will be achievable. Troccaz told Le Parisien that unlike the Modane station, the Saint-Michel-Valloire one does not have a marshalling yard – a space where a train would be parked for an hour or two while it is cleaned and readied for departure.

Without this separate area, the driver will have to turn the train around quickly – a maneuver which usually takes time and practice, Troccaz explained.

What about driving?

According to France Bleu, the A43 motorway was quickly reopened following the landslide. As such, car access to ski resorts in the Haute-Muarienne Vanoise area is not expected to be disrupted during winter 2024.

The local tourist office told France Bleu that 88 percent of visitors coming to ski in the area arrived by car in 2023, so most people will not notice any major changes.

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“Canua Island”, a 1,750 square-metre motorised platform boasting a restaurant, bar lounge and freshwater swimming pool, was inaugurated on Thursday night off Mandelieu-La Napoule on the Cote d’Azur in southeastern France.

The two-storey platform set on a trimaran and anchored 600 metres from the seafront can accommodate up to 350 people.

Opponents of the €16-million project have denounced it as “an ecological aberration”.

Environmental groups have long battled for increased protection for sea life and the coastline of the highly developed Cote d’Azur, long considered a playground for the rich and famous.

The owners were denied permits to operate last year, but they took the case to court and were granted an authorisation to launch the project.

The project had initial support from just one local commune, Mandelieu-La Napoule, but was contested by the head of the broader Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur region, Renaud Muselier, a member of President Emmanuel Macron’s ruling party.

On Friday, around 20 mayors, including those of Nice and Toulon, signed a letter denouncing “this commercial exploitation of the marine environment”.

But the owners stress that the project is safe, with the engines running on biofuel, a desalination system producing freshwater and all waste being recycled on land.

Due to the controversy, the floating beach will not be open to the public this season.

Based at La Seyne-sur-Mer, near Toulon, it will be available for private events such as weddings on the Cote d’Azur. The owners have already received around 30 booking requests.

The actual beaches of France are public spaces owned by the state, although hotels and other leisure groups can rent some of the beach space to create ‘private’ beaches where guests must pay for a sun lounger or umbrella.