Frecciarossa’s Paris-Lyon connection partially resumes after landslide
The Frecciarossa high-speed trains have been able to partially resume their services, after an interruption caused by a landslide in the Alps, in the Maurienne region. There are now two round trips a day between Paris-Gare de Lyon and Lyon Part Dieu stations. The connection with Milan has not resumed, however.
Trenitalia’s Paris-Lyon service was interrupted following a landslide in the Maurienne region of the Alps, which has blocked road and rail traffic at the Fréjus tunnel, preventing travel between France and Italy at this crossing. The closure of the Paris-Milan line made it impossible to carry out necessary technical maintenance on the Frecciarossa fleet in the Italian workshops. Indeed, the company said on X (formerly Twitter): “The closure of the line between Italy and France means that our trains cannot pass through the Milan workshops for maintenance. For safety reasons, the Paris-Lyon trains: 6650, 6647, 6654, 6651, 6656, and 6655 will not run from 4/09 until further notice”.
However, the Italian group has found a solution and the trains have now resumed running. “The Trenitalia Group has urgently mobilised a team of experts from Milan to carry out part of the Frecciarossa maintenance in France. This mobilisation has enabled Trenitalia France to maintain the highest safety standards for four Paris-Lyon trains out of the usual 6 daily trains”, it says on its website. More specifically, trains 6650, 6651, 6655 and 6656 are now running normally, although trains 6647 and 6654 will be cancelled until 17 September inclusive.
Works to take “at least 2 months”
SNCF Réseau, the infrastructure manager, is currently carrying out the necessary expert assessments to establish a timetable for restoring normal road and rail traffic. Trenitalia France is currently awaiting the results of these investigations and will keep its passengers informed of developments in the situation. “The resumption of rail traffic between Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne and Modane is not currently envisaged for at least 2 months”, shares SNCF Réseau on X. In fact, “Track repairs can only begin once the work to reinforce the mountain, coordinated by the government, has been completed”.
Trenitalia, the first European operator to enter the French rail market after it was opened up to competition, has been offering the Paris-Lyon-Milan connection in normal time since 18 December 2021 with Frecciarossa. Two Frecciarossa services are available every day between Milano Centrale and Paris-Gare de Lyon, including stopovers in Turin and Lyon Part-Dieu at the following times. Departure from Milan at 6.25 am, arriving in Paris at 1.22 pm, and a departure at 3.53 pm, arriving in Paris at 10.25 pm. From Paris, departures are scheduled at 7.26 am, arriving in Milan at 2.07 pm, and at 3.18 pm, arriving in Milan at 10.07 pm.
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