The Olympic Games are entering their final days and French rail infrastructure manager SNCF is preparing to resume its summer works schedule the day after the closing ceremony.
SNCF Réseau [Network] said it is working on 14 projects in the Hautes-de-France, the nation’s most northerly region.
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“SNCF Réseau is committed this summer 2024 through 14 structuring projects on the Hauts-de-France rail network. On the tracks and the power supply, for travelers and goods, we accelerate the regeneration of the network to improve its performance,” said Marie-Céline Masson, regional director for Hauts-de-France, SNCF Réseau.
From 12 August several “factory trains” will be deployed in the region, which SNCF said would replace 1km of tracks per day and catenary arms at a rate of 1 every 11 minutes.
Several portions of tracks will be replaced, including switches at certain locations. The major works include:
Paris-Strasbourg passenger line
20km of new track will be laid between Château-Thierry and Dormans. The 500-personnel team will work with two factory trains: one to replace the rail tracks and sleepers, and a second to replace ballast. They will run with 2km between the trains to avoid accidents.
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By GlobalDataThis project will cost SNCF nearly $40m (€36.7m).
Ormoy-Villers freight line
Half of the 60km route will be replaced between Ormoy-Villers and Verberie.
Although it will take fewer engineers than the Paris line repairs, with a team of 250, the Ormoy-Villers work has been costed at €66m ($72m).
Lille to Hirson line
Rather than tracks and sleepers, this line’s catenary arms need replacing. €7m ($7m) will be spent on this work, replacing 1,200 catenary arms on 35 km of the line between Hirson and Sains-du-Nord.
Switches
Outside of the line renewal, SNCF Réseau is replacing 10 switches near a freight depot at Le Verberie, a commune 70km north of Paris.
It will also replace a single switch, and two kilometres of track near Longueil-Sainte-Marie, on a vital line from Creil, an outskirt of Paris, and Jeumont on the Belgian border.
This 100-person job will cost slightly more than $7m (€7.3m) and will require one full weekend without trains on the section of the line.
