Italy Border Chaos: Train Link To France May Be Out Of Action For Two Months, Minister Warns

Travellers faced chaos this week after landslides closed rail and highway links between Italy, France and Austria.

On Monday (28 August), thunderstorms led to landslides which shut down key rail and highway corridors between the countries.

700 cubic metres of rocks tumbled down the mountain, bursting through a security barrier and littering practice tracks.

All TGV and TrenItalia companies running on the Chambéry-Turin line have been cancelled between Monday and Wednesday, and disruption remains to be ongoing.

On Thursday, French Transport Minister Clement Beaune indicated that Franco-Italian rail hyperlink might be out of action for no much less than two months.

This just isn't the primary time a major geological event has disrupted rail traffic on the France-Italy line. In 2019, a mudslide stopped site visitors for three weeks.

Which train strains and roads are closed?
French practice operator SNCF mentioned on Monday that prepare visitors would be interrupted till additional discover between Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and Modane. Trains between France and Italy are still operating by way of Nice or Switzerland.

Regional TER trains in the Maurienne Valley have also been disrupted. For TER trains, the terminus is now Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, and for TER coaches, the final stop is Saint-Michel-Valloire.

Frecciarossia - excessive velocity trains run by Trenitalia - between Saint-Michel-Valloire and Mondane have also been disrupted for a number of days.

The Frejus tunnel stays closed to vans and trains and the Brenner tunnel to rail site visitors. The Frejus tunnel will likely reopen to vans in a week or so.

What compensation am I entitled to if my prepare was cancelled?
The landslide falls beneath ‘extraordinary circumstances’ - an occasion that the corporate couldn't foresee or control.

This means they are exempt from paying the identical old amount of compensation (25 per cent of their ticket value for delays of over an hour and 50 per cent for more than two hours delay in most circumstances.)

However, you still have rights in case your journey has been disrupted - including the entitlement to a full refund. The EU rules are as follows:

"If you are delayed as a outcome of a cancelled prepare, which means you'd arrive at your final vacation spot with a delay of more than 60 minutes, you might have the proper to determine on between:

A refund of your ticket inside 30 days – this might be a full or partial refund (covering the part of the journey not made), and a return journey to your preliminary level of departure, if, the delay as a result of cancelled train prevents you from fulfilling the purpose of your journey, or


Continuing or re-routing your journey beneath comparable circumstances to reach your last destination on the earliest alternative, at no further value, or
Continuing or re-routing your journey at a later date of your choosing under comparable conditions, at no additional price. This includes alternative transport to get you to your ultimate destination when the train is blocked and the service is suspended."
More info can be found here.

When is the Mont Blanc tunnel closing?
The deliberate closure for maintenance of the Mont Blanc tunnel between Italy and France has been postponed as a outcome of landslide, Italy's transport ministry mentioned on Thursday.

The tunnel - which hyperlinks Courmayeur in Italy with Chamonix in France, and was utilized by greater than 1.7 million vehicles final year - was supposed to shut from 4 September for 15 weeks for deliberate maintenance works.

It's unclear when works will now start. praca za granicą dla par According to Reuters, the closure might be delayed by as much as a year..