Question 5214 — rail transport

Summary

Mr. Laurent Alexandre wishes to call on Mr. the Minister Delegate to the Minister for Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, responsible for transport on the removal of the Cahors-Capdenac train line for the benefit of a greenway project. It no longer needs to be proven that the train is a virtuous means of transport because it is low-carbon and efficient in many aspects. It also actively participates in opening up rural areas. In In this case, the Cahors-Capdenac railway line, currently decommissioned, could be functional again after development work estimated between 30 and 90 million euros (high range in the event of significant modernization of the line) by the Transversales report published in 2012, compared to around 30 million euros for the greenway project. In addition, still according to the same report which compares the greenway and exploitation scenarios railway, the latter brings many advantages. On the one hand, the relaunch of the Cahors-Capdenac railway line would make it possible to more effectively connect the Lot territory and constitute a useful diversion and reinforcement route for important routes (POLT or Rodez-Brive for example). The flat profile of this line also seems ideal for freight, especially since it is connected to the national network and regional at both ends. The potential is especially significant for local freight, with several companies located on either side of the line currently using road transport in the absence of a rail alternative. This is the case, for example, of the company MATIERE, located in Bagnac-sur-Célé. Such a choice could divert up to 650,000 tonnes of goods per year from the roads, or 23,500 fewer truck passages. per year. The travel time is equivalent between the car and the train and faster by train than by bus (1h15 between the city center of Capdenac and Cahors by train compared to 2 hours by bus). As part of a proactive ecological transition policy, this line would ensure 2,000 daily journeys, replacing thousands of daily car journeys and tens of thousands of annual truck journeys. The gain in greenhouse gas emissions and road safety can be considerable. As for the future of the greenway project, other routes seem possible, in a department like Lot with more than 1,300 kilometers of cycle routes and magnificent landscapes to highlight, especially since the presence of infrastructures specific to the train line such as around fifty level crossings, rock trenches, thirteen tunnels or even numerous bridges and viaducts along the 71 kilometer route can pose significant safety problems and redevelopment constraints. There is therefore no question of competing with the train with the bicycle, these two means of transport have their place in the necessary transition that we must make. However, the problem of removing iron from the Cahors-Capdenac track would make everything return to the train impossible on this route, condemning many inhabitants between these two cities to the sole use of the car. This analysis is widely shared by local political leaders, as evidenced by a letter from Mr. Jean-Luc Gibelin, 5th vice-president of the Occitanie region in charge of transport where, when questioned on this subject, he announced in 2017: “I take advantage of this response to reaffirm the position of the regional council concerning the Cahors-Capdenac line. Do not unshoe the line so as not to compromise the future.” It would be fashionable to review the issue between all local stakeholders, elected officials, users, associations and to organize a moratorium on the issue to democratically and seriously consider the issue before embarking on an irreversible option such as removing the iron from the line. Thus, the MP would like to know the position of Mr. the Minister and the Government on the subject of removing iron from the Capdenac-Cahors line and rail transport in general and whether it is necessary to remove old lines and compromise train travel in our rural areas or encourage collective and low-carbon transport by investing massively in structuring local lines for the territories.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

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