A train line reopens this Sunday in the Pyrenees, thanks to unprecedented funding

In a context of government disengagement from secondary rail network lines, which are generally loss-making, the Occitanie region has decided to fully finance, to the tune of €67 million, the reconstruction of the 36 km line that connects Montréjeau to Luchon, a spa and winter sports resort in the Pyrenees. A first in France.

It "is one of those lines that, for the State and SNCF-Réseau, do not merit investment," observes Éric Dansart, rail expert and director of the specialist media Mobilettre. The dilapidated infrastructure and the damage caused by flooding led the SNCF to close this line in 2014, which was used by luxury Paris-Luchon trains at the beginning of the 20th century.

For the PS president of the Occitanie region Carole Delga, this investment "is a political choice to promote low-carbon mobility, to fight against global warming and territorial injustice" .

According to her, the new link has a "dual function: the reestablishment of a public rail service and support for employment and the tourist economy" in an area suffering from the crisis in thermalism and the uncertainties weighing on the future of skiing.

At the SNCF, the logic of profitable lines compensating for the losses of smaller lines is over. "The new priority," according to the rail expert, "is the metropolitan RER and restoring the network of major lines, such as Bordeaux-Marseille, Paris-Clermont."

Reopening a TER line, he continues, "is a real gamble. For it to work, you need sufficient frequency," yet there is "a big appetite for non-road transport" on the part of the French.

The region is not counting on "immediate financial profitability. On the other hand, there is profitability in the medium and long term, for young people and the planet," assures Carole Delga. With the slogan "Small lines, big cause," the president of Regions of France launched a call last week for mobilization to save 4,000 lines lacking funding, by proposing to transfer a portion of motorway revenue to rail.

For Luchon's non-partisan mayor, Éric Azémar, the arrival of the train "contributes to the revival" of the resort. "It's essential for its appeal, for tourists, spa guests, skiers, and for opening up the area," says the mayor, who hopes to "get back on track" after the Covid years.

A combined Thermes-Rail and Ski-Rail ticket offer (including a package) is expected to attract new customers. "We observed a drop in the number of spa visitors when the train disappeared," he notes.

Having been campaigning for the return of the train for ten years with the Cdric association, Philippe Liauzun believes that a "territorial imbalance" will be corrected and recalls that the line was opened in 1873 when Luchon was nicknamed "the queen of the Pyrenees" .

Initially, the service will be provided by hybrid trains, with combustion engines powered by biofuel, before the hydrogen trains enter service next year. By the end of 2026, the line will indeed be a theater of innovation, when the hydrogen trains that Alstom is fine-tuning at its Tarbes factory enter service.

"A station for recharging the train with hydrogen will then be installed at Luchon station," explains the project manager, Matthieu Schwebel.

This is the second TER line to reopen in Occitanie, after the one along the right bank of the Rhône in the Gard, which until 2022 was only used for freight.