Rail traffic will be completely interrupted during the day for six months between Paris and Orléans due to major works from August 2025, the SNCF announced on Tuesday, October 8.
Starting in April 2025, preparatory work will involve the interruption of train circulation for five hours a day, between 10:00 and 15:00, on this line that connects Paris with Toulouse via Orléans and Limoges (POLT line).
Most of the works will begin in August 2025, with rail traffic closures between 9:30 and 17:30, Monday to Friday, until the end of January 2026. The completion of the works is scheduled for February 2026, stated the SNCF. Réseau, during a press conference.
To respond to these disturbances, an increase in the supply of trains outside of working periods and replacement wagons is being studied, while a pause in construction is planned for weekends and during the Christmas holidays in 2025.
Work considered “essential”
The operation, which consists of the comprehensive renewal of 70 kilometers of track (rails, ballast and sleepers) between Boisseaux and Les Aubrais (Loiret), using a factory train, will mobilize 400 people on the line, day and night, at the base of works located. in Aubrais.
While major track renewal projects on the rest of the line are carried out at night, the section in question is an exception, as it is located on the Atlantic freight corridor, a major European freight route, said SNCF Réseau. “60% of regional and international freight trains run at night on this line and must respect the crossing schedules imposed at the borders”according to the SNCF.
“This is an extraordinary project and we are aware of the impacts of this work on the daily lives of travelers”declared Olivier Bancel, executive general director of projects, maintenance and operations at SNCF Réseau. This project, valued at 133 million euros and already postponed twice, is financed entirely by SNCF Réseau.
“While we welcome the completion of this essential work, we cannot ignore the hardship it will cause for commuters”reacted the president of the Centre-Val de Loire region, François Bonneau, in a press release. “We regret that our requests to favor nighttime interventions, which penalize users less, have not been taken into account”he added.
In recent years, elected officials and communities have often pointed to a degraded line and highlighted works “essential” and committed since 2018.
