This is the little song that has been rising, for a few weeks already, among observers of the railway world: the days of the Bordeaux-Montluçon regional express transport line (TER) would be numbered. A perfectly unfounded “hearsay” for Renaud Lagrave, vice-president of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region.
If the connection between the two cities will know well, by December 2020, some changes, the elected representative ensures that the frequency and the number of trains will increase.
Is the TER Bordeaux-Montluçon suspended?
Renaud Lagrave: “I said it and I will say it again: fake news ?! We are not going to stop this TER, on the contrary. Here is the observation: today, the connections miss trains and, especially, the schedules do not correspond to the demand of the users. We have carried out studies, there have been several consultations and we signed an agreement with SNCF last year which goes in this direction – it is also known to those interested in rail – and we started by the railway star of Périgueux and the Dordogne valley. Therefore, there are going to be a number of changes, in particular on the TER Bordeaux-Montluçon. “
How to improve the quality of rail transport in the Montluçon basin?
So there will no longer be a direct line between Bordeaux and Montluçon ??
R.L : “Traffic will be limited in Bordeaux-Limoges, but there will be connections that will be provided to Guéret and Montluçon and with a similar journey time (between 4:26 am and 5:02 am, Editor’s note). We needed more trains that go faster to destinations like Limoges and Bordeaux. However, as we will have gained in speed between Limoges and Bordeaux, there will necessarily be the same travel time between Bordeaux and Montluçon. Except that there will be a change in Limoges. I hear the downside of the change, but there will be more trains, with greater frequency. »
So it’s an improvement ??
R.L : “The offer will be much larger. The number of connections between Montluçon and Bordeaux will increase. From December 2020, there will be four more connections from Monday to Friday, four connections on Saturday and three on Sunday. For Bordeaux-Guéret, seven connections are added from Monday to Friday. Knowing that these trains are, for the most part, in rush hour. “
“I am willing to respond to concerns when they are legitimate but there, in this case, fake news. These are significant improvements, even quite unprecedented. Those who organize this debate may not be informed enough. So, yes, there will be a change, but above all, there will be many, many more trains. “
Renaud Lagrave (Vice-president of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region)
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Will this change impact, in one way or another, the Bordeaux-Lyon link?
R.L : “In no way. In any case, we are going as far as Montluçon. Then, and sorry to put it bluntly, it is no longer with us. Our job is to pull the trains to Montluçon. And the choice made by the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region is not to go beyond Montluçon. “
After two months of work, the Paris-Montluçon trains are back on track
On the subject of rail, are there still any links or exchanges with the Aura region?
R.L : “Links, yes. Precise work, in the current state of things, no. “
We wrote to Laurent Wauquiez a few years ago about the resumption of the Bordeaux-Lyon line, he told us that this was not one of the priorities for the Aura region. Maybe that has since changed, we haven’t had any new information on the subject.
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“For our part, we approach the issue of rail in an extremely simple way: we will not close any lines. And we put, wherever we can, money to avoid closures, slowdowns. We will fight to the end for that, it’s our choice. Afterwards, everyone makes their choices according to their political orientations. “
Interview by Sid Benahmed
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