In the waiting room of the SNCF station of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains-Le Fayet, in the heart of the Arve valley, in Haute-Savoie, eleven people take their troubles patiently, this Tuesday morning of the end of October. The next train is scheduled in almost two hours. In question, a local strike of railway workers, which has disrupted traffic since October 18 and which is still in progress in mid-November.
A little earlier, from this same station, a coach with more than sixty seats left in the direction of Cluses (Haute-Savoie). On board… only two passengers. “There are never many people on this line”, admits the driver, Lydie Andriollo, of the Borini company, while on the departmental road, many motorists drive alone in their car. Twenty minutes later, at the Magland stop, a town on the banks of the Arve, two young people would like to get on. Impossible, explains M.me Andriollo. Their subscription is not valid on this company.
And to think that not long ago, four daily trains linked La Roche-sur-Foron and Saint-Gervais, with stops at Cluses and Magland… As they corresponded to work and school timetables, at the beginning and end of day, they were full, underlines the Association rail Dauphiné Savoie Léman (ARDSL), which estimates the number of users of these trains at 2,000. But, due to“a temporary and unforeseeable shortage of personnel in [ses] teams”, the SNCF had to remove them until the summer of 2023. According to the SUD-Rail union, five signalmen resigned for reasons of salary and working conditions.
Centenary railway
Result, “16-year-old kids, you find them on the departmental road hitchhiking at 3 p.m., because they are not going to wait for the 6 p.m. transport”, worries Jean-Marc Peillex, the mayor (without label) of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains. Willy Loré, 25, does not have a license. He wanted to be able to take advantage of the purchase aid for an electric bicycle. But in the town of Domancy, 70 kilometers from Annecy, there is no right.
Welcome to the Arve valley, one of the most polluted territories in France due to its isolation, industrial and tourist activity and where the public transport offer, which could precisely make it possible to fight against pollution peaks, remains illegible and obsolete.
The situation of the line between La Roche-sur-Foron and Saint-Gervais demonstrates “hypocrisy and dishonesty” of the State, responsible for maintaining the railway lines, and in particular this one, which is a single and non-automated track dating from the beginning of the 20th centurye century, says Youri Dervin, vice-president of ARDSL. “There is a problem of earmarking investments. Is it necessary to provide Haute-Savoie with new roads, such as the planned motorway in Chablais [territoire de Thonon-les-Bains] ? What signal do we send when the region announces the increase in the price of tickets and TER subscriptions, while the price of gasoline is lowered? »he continues.
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