Modernisation of the overhead contact lines between Nice and Ventimiglia
For several months, ETF’s catenary teams carried out a project for SNCF Réseau to modernise 15 kilometres of catenary lines between Villefranche-sur-Mer and Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, passing through Monaco.
In the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, the 930,000 line is a vital route for regional and cross-border mobility. Every day, thousands of passengers travel between Marseille, Nice and Italy. But between the sea and the mountains, there are numerous technical constraints: narrow tunnels, short sections between tunnels, station areas and limited access.
A construction site in an extremely challenging environment
The objective? To replace the catenary in areas inaccessible to the Suite Rapide catenary system, at the heart of a network already occupied by several simultaneous construction sites.
The project was carried out in two phases: from September to December 2024, followed by a second phase of finalisation between May and July 2025.
To minimise disruption to rail services, work was carried out at night, with up to 26 sets of points replaced each night.
In total:
- 9 km of pendulum
- 4 km of overhead protection cable laid in tunnels
- 12 catenary supports installed
These operations were carried out in restricted access areas, under detection nets or in tunnels, requiring meticulous logistics and enhanced safety measures.
To meet these challenges, ETF mobilised four ELAN Rail/Road gondolas with around fifteen employees.
A key part of the major line upgrade
This project is part of a huge plan to modernise the Marseille–Ventimiglia line, along with other projects happening at the same time, like the Marseille–Ventimiglia High Performance (HPMV) project, which aims to make trains run more regularly by 2031.