To ensure safe operation of the Cuneo-Ventimiglia railway line and avoid it having to be closed for good, SNCF Réseau awarded SYSTRA a project management contract in 2017 to carry out works and technical inspections on the section between Breil-sur-Roya station and the Col de Tende tunnel, an 8 km-long engineering structure completed in 1898.
Connecting Cuneo to Ventimiglia between France and Italy, this transnational mountain line, inaugurated in 1928, is unusual in that it crosses the Franco-Italian border twice: although its terminals are in Italy, part of the line is in France.
A BIG CHALLENGE
The objective was a major one: to renew 7km of rail and two rail bridges, replace a large part of the ballast and reinforce the Col de Tende tunnel, modernise the signalling system, and prepare for ground movements by installing rockfall detectors and deploying 9 nets and 6 wall retention screens. This work meant that the line had to be shut down for 10 months.
A BROAD RANGE OF EXPERTISES
10 months of works were required for the reopening of the line which was carried out within the timeframe specified by our client SNCF Réseau. This assignment made full use of SYSTRA’s numerous technical skills, from infrastructure, such as track and earthworks, to signalling, energy and telecommunications.
Trains began running again on 13th July 2018 for the ‘Train des Merveilles’ (Train of Wonders) with four return journeys each day. It is one of Europe’s most picturesque railway lines, linking Cuneo in the Italian Alps to Ventimiglia on the Italian coast, passing through the ‘Vallée des Merveilles’ (Valley of Wonders) in Mercantour in the French Alps.