It is a long tunnel twenty-seven kilometers long, punctuated by twenty-one stations, which should be put into service in 2028. Thirty years after the inauguration of line A, the future line C of the Toulouse metro faces many technical and economic constraints. Earlier this week, after an article in the weekly Challenges reporting on“a hole of 600 million euros in the financing of the future line”, the questions and controversies have swelled. Thursday, June 29, during a site visit to the future François-Verdier station, node in the city center of lines B and C, the elected officials wanted to reassure.
For François Chollet (Horizons), vice-president of Toulouse Métropole, “ the cost of this line will be 3.1 billion euros, an amount that has certainly evolved with the crisis and the increase in energy prices, but unchanged from our assessments “. Previously, Marc Péré, on behalf of the metropolitan opposition group Alternative municipaliste citoyenne, had assured that ” the budget for the third metro line is not funded “.
The opposition is asking for an increase from 0.2% to 0.4% of the mobility payment by local businesses. A possibility mentioned by Toulouse Métropole, but which for the moment would come up against the refusal of the local Medef. Marc Péré, the mayor of L’Union, in the Toulouse suburbs, believes that ” the financial chasm to be filled is too deep, despite the increase in prices at 1er July and the violence of the anti-union repression at Tisséo Voyageurs “. On strike since the beginning of the year, the employees of the joint transport union are indeed demanding wage increases linked to inflation, hitherto refused by Tisséo.
Nuisances
With regard to the works, according to Maxime Boyer, in charge of transport at Toulouse Métropole, “ with 4 million journeys per day in the agglomeration, 50% of which are by car, the urgency is to streamline and reduce pollution “. Putting line C into circulation would save, according to the elected official, more than 90,000 automobile trips per day. In the city at “15,000 construction sites” According to Mr. Boyer, metro works actually cause nuisances throughout the urban area.
After the diversions of the water networks, the streets of Toulouse are experiencing many developments for the creation of cycle paths or pedestrianization. If compensation has been granted, some trade associations cringe. Under the ground, the work on the tunnel for the future line C of the François-Verdier station, which will be dug 35 meters deep, is combined with the relocation of the entrance to an underground car park, and the diversion of traffic this summer.
You have 17.98% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.