A compelling argument, the New Provence Côte d’Azur line was at the center of attention and debate during the general assembly of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry held yesterday.
More prosaically, the elected officials and decision-makers from the Côte d’Azur already bear the burden of the failed extension of the TGV to Nice in the 2000s due to the infighting between the mayors of the time from Marseille, Toulon, and Nice (with the first two still in office!).
Now, due to the lack of investment capacity from SNCF which has been allocated to other projects, a partial but interesting solution is possible:
Following the Ministerial Decision (DM) of July 2013, a phased project could alleviate an increasingly burdensome situation that risks crippling mobility in the department, with serious consequences for the local economy and tourism.
Can you imagine the entrepreneurial development of the Eco-valley of the Plain of Var, a revival of the Sophia Antipolis technology park, the global expansion of the Grasse perfume hub, event-related tourism in Cannes, with Nice being 2h30 from Marseille, 5h30 from Paris, and, towards the east, Milan and Turin being nearly 5 hours away?
What does this project foresee, which nonetheless has “biblical” timescales in this century where everything moves at the speed of light? A modernization of the current line, albeit in successive stages and with timescales that do not inspire:
Priority 1 of the LN PCA is the Siagne-Nice and Marseille-Aubagne sections, with national priorities to be initiated before 2030 with respective budgets of €4.2 billion and €2.5 billion.
Priority 2 involves the Le Muy-Siagne and Aubagne-Toulon sections, in projects to be launched between 2030 and 2050 with respective budgets of €2.1 billion and €3.8 billion.
Priority 3 includes the Toulon-Le Muy and Nice-Italy sections, to be carried out beyond 2050.
The expected benefits of phase 1 are two new stations at Nice-Airport and Sophia Antipolis (if an agreement can be reached at the municipal level, which so far has been collectively rejected), a TER train every 8 minutes between Cannes and Nice during peak hours, a 7-minute journey between Sophia and Nice with tremendous impacts for the Eco-Valley-Technopole SA connection.
For the younger generation, priority 2 plans for a new station at Le Muy, 6 TER trains per hour between eastern Var and the Alpes-Maritimes, a 15-minute journey time between Le Muy and Sophia, a Marseille-Nice journey time of 1h40 instead of the current 2h30, and a doubling of long-distance trains during peak hours.
That said, we must not miss the opportunity; otherwise, we risk missing this last chance and saying goodbye… Nice and its region could remain isolated, with the only prospect being increasing highway traffic leading to paralysis and increased pollution!
Companies from the Côte d’Azur want to respond to this frankly unacceptable situation and are sounding the call for mobilization.
Regarding priority 1, preliminary consultation, which has just started and will end in early July, will be followed by a consultation between September and December.
The goal is to obtain ministerial approval of the route, allowing for the initiation of the public inquiry dossier.
If all goes well, there will certainly be appeals and other pleasantries in the name of democracy; the work could start in 2022 for completion in 2028.
In these types of projects, experience tells us that the conditional is necessary. For citizens, what is mandatory is having a lot of patience.
