Castex commits to launch renovations of small railway lines

"It's concrete, it's real!" Exclaimed Mr. Castex in front of the Saint-Dié station, before the departure of the inaugural train through the snow-capped hills of the Vosges.

The head of government, who recalled being "a great lover of trains and passionate about railway things", deplored the "decades during which the State (...) considered that these service lines to the rural world were very expensive. expensive anyway ".

And to recall that the underinvestment forced the trains to slow down, scaring off passengers, etc.

The government intends to participate with the regions in the regeneration of 9.200 km of small lines. "It is a large-scale movement. We are doing it everywhere because we believe in it," he said.

"We are spending money on rail. It is an investment for the future," he insisted, promising "a return on investment" for the community.

He also underlined the need to have "a global policy" of infrastructures, considering that the construction of highways could also be sometimes necessary.

49 km long, the single-track line connecting Arques, near Epinal, to Saint-Dié had been closed since December 2018, for safety reasons due to its poor condition - dilapidated tracks and risk of collapse of two tunnels.

This closure had made President Emmanuel Macron angry, because he had undertaken to maintain it a few months earlier during a trip to Saint-Dié.

Its reopening has therefore become a national project, the 21 million euros of necessary work being covered 40% by the State and 60% by the Grand Est region.

"Commitment made, commitment kept," said Jean Castex.

The line was used very little and was very poor before its closure, yet the frequencies will be reinforced, with direct links to Strasbourg.

It will be part of the links opened to competition by the regional council, including for infrastructure.

Jean Castex also indicated on Sunday that he was giving the green light to an experiment allowing the Grand Est to pay less tolls to SNCF Réseau to circulate its TER, in exchange for investments in the structuring network and the passage of more of trains.