By Nicolas Gastal
Published on 1 Jan 21 at 13:46
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A train driver since 2011, Anthony is a true enthusiast. Transferred on Aurillac in 2018, it is called, since a training followed on the operation of a snow plow in December 2019, to intervene to remove snow from the railway lines when it is useful.
Share your passion and daily life
And needless to say, it has been hard at work lately. And to share his passion and show the general public behind the scenes, he uses social networks, especially Twitter with his account. « Antho’ conducTER Aurillac ».
Then comes the station @StationduLioran, between 60cm and 1m of fresh snow cover the platforms and the track. Savor … pic.twitter.com/CXufcoySAm
— Antho’???? conducTER Aurillac ????️❄️???????? (@anthoavgn) December 28, 2020
In videos or photos, he tells about his daily life. An idea that came up when he was a train driver in the Paris region (before his arrival in Cantal): “A colleague told me that he was on Twitter and that he was telling his daily life. And I thought it was a good idea. This made it possible to discuss with the users, to bring a little good humor. And I continued when I got here. This allows you to get to know the behind the scenes and to discover our profession ”emphasizes Anthony.
And it’s off again, we go back down direction vic sur cere, a few more trees will make us stop and cut them in turn. pic.twitter.com/Tibz9asqFv
— Antho’???? conducTER Aurillac ????️❄️???????? (@anthoavgn) December 28, 2020
My grandparents lived right next to a train track and I could see trains going by!
A job that fascinates him and that he wanted to do since he was little: “My grandparents lived right next to a railway line and I saw the trains go by. I knew that later I was going to drive trains. And I started at 19 and a half. “
A dream come true
And today, the dream has therefore come true. With the feeling, like his colleagues, of being useful to people: “Every day, we transport passengers from one place to another and that is a source of pride. “
After Murat station, at 50km / h while visibility is reduced, I see a large branch at the height of the windshield and therefore my head, I lower myself, brake but the shock is inevitable, a window will be broken , the tree in question cut off. Phew more fear than harm. pic.twitter.com/ovQrNiqQAl
— Antho’???? conducTER Aurillac ????️❄️???????? (@anthoavgn) December 28, 2020
And to drive this famous snowplow, Anthony took training. But he is not the only one to have received it. Of the 27 drivers stationed in Aurillac “practically all of them received it. And when there is a need for a snow plow, we are called in, and a shift is operated. ”
Other trees will be removed without problems. pic.twitter.com/31xn5KwIEG
— Antho’???? conducTER Aurillac ????️❄️???????? (@anthoavgn) December 28, 2020
To feel useful
Thus, it is not the same driver who uses it every day. A snow plow parked in Aurillac and which can therefore be mobilized from November 15 to March 15. And so it came out at the start of that last week of December and Anthony had the “chance to release it on Monday December 28 (the first day of that heavy snowfall).” And for me, yes, it’s a chance because it changes our daily life a bit. We feel useful because if we do not clear the snow, other trains cannot pass. There, I received a call on Friday to tell me that I had to use the snowplow on Monday morning. But depending on the weather, we can be warned the day before (around 3pm to 4pm) of an intervention. “
–A working day that starts at 3:45 a.m.
Appointment is given at 3:45 am in Aurillac station. Time to do the usual checks, Anthony takes off with an equipment agent, fitted with a chainsaw to cut, and clear any trees that might be on the rails.
“We leave at 4:40 am and arrive at 6:07 am in Neussargues. Then we do the opposite way to arrive in Aurillac around 9 am. But this time around, we got there around 11 am because not only was there a lot of snow but also a lot of fallen trees. In general, we have to push snow from Saint-Jacques-des-Blats and there is snow as far as Murat. But there, it was necessary to start at the level of the commune of Yolet. “
Passage to the lioran, the draisine also works and will work all day! Stop for a few minutes for service. pic.twitter.com/WW8HoOsGYD
— Antho’???? conducTER Aurillac ????️❄️???????? (@anthoavgn) December 28, 2020
Up to 1 meter of snow
And to say that there was a lot of snow is an understatement: “Between 60 cm and 1 meter of snow. With the weight, a lot of branches were at the height of our windshields, so you had to be very careful. I know that my colleague, who took out the snowplow the next day, returned to Aurillac at only… 7 pm, which shows that the conditions are really special. “
????New estimate of resumption of traffic between Aurillac and Neussargues on the Clermont-Aurillac line: Sunday January 3, 2021.
The mobilization of officers on site continues to clear snow from the tracks and remove trees to allow safe traffic. pic.twitter.com/AX5YjnUwqm– SNCF TER AURA (@SNCFTERAURA) December 31, 2020
And despite all this goodwill, the trains could not run: “Because as soon as you cut trees, there are others who fall on the rails a few minutes after our passage because there is so much snow. It’s really an exceptional episode, ”says Anthony.
According to the latest news, traffic should resume this Sunday, January 3, 2021.
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