A TER every quarter of an hour, even every ten minutes. Did you dream of it? The New Line could grant your wish… provided you are not in too much of a hurry.
Started on January 17, the public inquiry into the new Provence Côte d’Azur line (LNPCA) lasts until February 28. A very short deadline, set by the regional prefect in Marseille, to allow citizens and associations to browse a file of… 5,000 pages. On the menu: the future of the train in the Paca region, in the Alpes-Maritimes, the Var and the Bouches-du-Rhône.
Heir to the LGV (high-speed line) Paca, redefined and renamed along the way, the new line project is divided into four phases. The public inquiry relates to the first two, spread out from 2023 to 2035. Who is concerned? What will change? Here’s what you need to know.
More frequent and reliable
Phases 1 and 2 reveal a priority mission: “Respond to the need to improve daily travel and improve the operation of the rail hubs in Marseille, Toulon, Nice and the Côte d’Azur”. In the Alpes-Maritimes, Nice and Cannes are the first concerned.
The challenge displayed is ambitious: “Increase the rail offer, improve journey times, offer a more reliable service by improving performance and regularity”. But also “preserving the development of rail freight” Where “improve the service of the territories”.
New ways
In the Alpes-Maritimes, phase 1 (2023-2030) only concerns the station Nice TGV airport. A new station that will eclipse Nice Saint-Augustin station, currently being moved. This transformation leads to the extension of the quay tracks from 220 meters to 400 meters, and the creation of two new quay tracks of 400 meters.
The project also provides for the development of three platforms, the creation of a passenger building with a surface area of 6,000m2, the construction of an 800-space car park and a 480-space bicycle park, the development stairs and a railroad bridge.
AT Marseillephase 1 provides for the development of an underground station in Saint-Charles, with four tracks for the TGV and TER.
West, new
Phase 2 (2027-2035) marks the major maneuvers west of the Alpes-Maritimes. At the station of Cannes, on the one hand, with the creation of a fourth route 400m long. AT Cannes-La Bocca, on the other hand. The project provides for the creation of a TER and goods station there, with four 220m lanes. The two central lanes will allow the TERs of the future rail shuttle to turn around without interfering with traffic.
Other major maneuvers in the Alpes-Maritimes: the bifurcation Cannes-Grasse. A strategic site for the fluidity of the Côte d’Azur network. The operation provides for the creation of a third lane on the Marseille-Ventimiglia axis, underground, and not overhead as had been envisaged.
At the station of Nicecity, two 220m tracks will be created for the Nice-Breil line, as well as a 220m central platform. At the station of Nice Saint-Roch, five 220m tracks will facilitate train storage and maintenance.
Stages 3 and 4
At the end of phases 1 and 2, the South-East should therefore offer “three metropolitan express networks in the agglomerations of Aix-Marseille, Toulon and the Côte d’Azur”, according to SNCF Réseau. Corn “we can only understand these phases if we understand that they are part of the overall project, which also requires phases 3 and 4, on the horizon of 2050”, says Jean-Pierre Serrus, vice-president of the South region. These are the phases that will bring “new lines” strictly speaking.
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