On Friday June 3, the CODERAIL association and the CGT unions of railway workers from Vierzon, Bourges and Montluçon called on users, elected officials and railway workers to exchange views, during a conference organized at the Saint-Amand-Montrond station. They have been sounding the alarm for several years together.
Extended travel times
“Work has been promised for a long time, and is still not carried out“Over Daniel Coffin, CODERAIL spokesman.”There is a section between Vallon-en-Sully and Montluçon where the trains only run at 40 km / h, for lack of repair of cracked rails. Going to Saint-Amand-Montrond, you only drive at 80 km/h, whereas originally the Vierzon Bourges Montluçon line was capable of 120 km/h. It is a totally untenable situation. We ask to regain the speed of thirty years ago.“
The spokesperson indicates that in 1991, it took 2h53 to make Montluçon-Paris, where it is necessary “in the best case“3:20 today.
Necessary investments
The association and the unions are therefore asking that work and major investments are quickly carried out. Even if the location of the line adds a dose of politico-administrative complexity: “In Montluçon, we have a very special situation since we are on the borders of three regions. We are in the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region, but just over 20 kilometers from the Centre-Val de Loire region and just over 20 kilometers from the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. Therefore, the three regions for the trains serving them must agree. But that’s not easy.”
Listen to Daniel Coffin’s interview in full in the podcast below, or by clicking here:
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