Train traffic between Marseille and Toulon interrupted due to sabotage
Figaro/La Marseillaise, January 15, 2024
This sabotage is costing users of SNCF’s southeastern rail network dearly. This Monday morning, train traffic was severely disrupted between Marseille and Toulon. Several cables were set on fire between the two stops served by TER trains, momentarily cutting off rail traffic for several hours.
The alarm was sounded at around 5:30 am. A “cable artery” that ensures the smooth running of the rail network had been “set on fire” between La Pomme and Marseille-Blancarde. “It’s not our installations that have caught fire, the fire is deliberate”, explains the SNCF, referring to “an act of malice”. The police also took fingerprints and noted the damage.
Shortly before 8 a.m., traffic had gradually resumed between Aubagne and Toulon, but not between Marseille and Aubagne. “Flow will be limited to 2 trains per hour in each direction, with disruptions throughout the day”, explains the SNCF in its latest update. TGVs are also affected by this act of mischief. In Nice, trains to Paris are running several hours late.
A morning of waiting for shipwrecked passengers on the Toulon-Marseille SNCF line
Var matin, January 15, 2024
A day of hardship for some SNCF users. Due to an act of malice, rail traffic is currently disrupted between Marseille and Toulon. “Cables have been set on fire between La Pomme and Marseille-Blancarde”, the railway company announced on social networks this Monday, January 15, 2024.
In the early hours of the morning, many passengers remained on the platform. This was the case for Marie-Jeanne, who was due to travel to Colmar, in the Grand Est region of France. “I got the information before I left. First, they announced a 40-minute delay for my train, then 3h10…” she explains.
Sitting in one of the outdoor seats at Toulon station, she nevertheless prefers not to give in to annoyance: “3 hours late, you can imagine… Well, after that, we’re not going to complain. The weather’s fine, so we can stay outside for a while!”
It’s the same story a little further on, with Jean-Yves. This resident of Valenciennes (Nord) prefers to keep smiling, even if his whole day is spoiled by delays. “I had a TGV to Lille at 10am in Marseille. So I couldn’t get it. The next one’s at 6 p.m… But hey, we’ve got good weather.”
Her suitcase prevents her from wandering around Toulon. Fortunately, a book is tucked away in his suitcase. “I have brushes, because I paint too.” She still has several hours to wait. “When I saw the message saying it was vandalism, I said to myself that it was really a gratuitous, deplorable act”, he concludes.
Inside, in the hall, Évelyne is a little annoyed: “It’s a bit often… The problem is that we still don’t know exactly what time they’re going to take us away. And there’s no point in going home […] In the meantime, I’m reading the book I should have been reading on the train.”
Traffic between Marseille and Toulon is expected to resume normally at 12 noon.
via: sansnom
Translated by Act for freedom now