A temporary increase in freight trains to be operated on a rail line in eastern France has triggered anger among local residents and led to one mayor taking legal action, albeit unsuccesfully. From 9 to 30 August 2024, around 40 extra freight trains daily are scheduled to be rerouted vie the Strasbourg-Lauterbourg line due to infrastructure works in Germany.
Michèlle Kannengieser, mayor La Wantzenau, where the line passes, contested the court decision which gave France’s network manager, SNCF Réseau, the go-ahead for the freight trains to operate on its network. She told the judicial authorities that the increase in freight traffic represented a potential danger to the local community as the track was in the immediate vicinity of a large residential area. The unknown nature of the freight to be transported was also a concern.
To support her argument, she said the infrastructure on the Strasbourg-Lauterbourg line was in a particularly poor state of repair – the rails being over 80 years old and suffering from a chronic lack of maintenance. This was precisely the reason why any increase in traffic on the line had previously been ruled out. However, at the end of last month, Kannengieser’s arguments were rejected by the court, leaving the path clear for the extra freight trains to operate.
The rerouting via France
The plan to temporarily increase freight traffic follows an agreement between SNCF Réseau and its German counterpart, DB InfraGo, which is currently carrying out work to upgrade the section between Rastatt and Baden-Baden. This entails an interruption in rail traffic on the German network; 50 per cent of freight trains will be cancelled while 25 per cent will take a route via Stuttgart and another 25 per cent the Woerth/Lauterbourg/Strasbourg/Kehl/Offenburg route. SNCF has given assurances that local passenger services will not be affected and underlined that there are no plans for the Strasbourg-Lauterbourg line to become an international rail freight route beyond the period covered by the temporary measures.
‘If there’s room for freight, there should be room for passengers’
Interviewed by the France 3 TV channel, François Giordani, President of an association representing public transport users in the Strasbourg area, said that for the past two years, he and his members have been told that more passenger trains cannot be put on the line despite the strong demand. “Now we’ve been informed that there are going to be more freight trains on the same line, which risks damaging the track and making it even worse,” he said.
Giordani added: “If things go well for the freight trains, there will be no excuse not to add passenger trains.”This was echoed by Kannengieser, who said in a Facebook post: “If the rails can handle 40 additional freight trains daily, couldn’t they accommodate three or four additional passenger trains at times when they are very much needed to link La Wantzenau to its surrounding area?”