Near the Teil station in Ardèche, those under 40 have never seen it, or on rare occasions when there is work on the left bank of the Rhône, on the Drôme side. The return of the passenger train, which disappeared from the department in 1973, is a sea serpent. This time, however, the TER has never been so close to making its return.
The Occitanie region on one side, and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region on the other, are pushing in this direction. “The reopening of the Nîmes – Pont-Saint-Esprit line in the Gard is scheduled for next summer”, explains Franck Pallier, spokesperson for the Collective of public transport users in South Ardèche (CUPSA). Problem, in Pont-Saint-Esprit, the trains cannot turn around. There is therefore a question of the reversal of TERs taking place at the Teil station in Ardèche.
12 million euros
Currently closed, this station must be the subject of work in order to be able to welcome travelers again, as part of a second line project that would link Romans-sur-Isère to Teil, carried by the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. . “The SNCF estimated the work at 12 million euros”, specifies Franck Pallier. “An agreement was signed between the region and SNCF in January 2020 for a reopening in 2025, at the earliest. “
But Ardèche users want to speed things up. “We would like to benefit from a derogation so that the ascent and descent of the train from Nîmes is authorized at the Teil station, as of this year, pending the completion of the work. To make its voice heard, the Collective of public transport users in South Ardèche (CUPSA) has planned several mobilizations and launched a petition. A meeting between local and regional elected officials and the regional management of SNCF should also take place in the spring.