“This important hotel” in a small SNCF station in Orne has closed, the village is looking for a

No words on the door, the shutters are still open. Train users who would like to have a coffee at the Surdon hotel-restaurant can turn around. Despite the numerous cars parked every day at the train station, the establishment no longer offers any service.

End of October 2024, “the hotel has closed its doors”indicates Serge Quellier, the mayor of Château d'Almenêches, in Orne. After taking over the La Petite France hotel in 2019, the manager wanted to retire for good. Also due to a lack of customers. “The traffic at the station brings me nothing. I'm broken all over. My health is fragile and financially, I cannot pay myself a salary”confided René Jolbert to West France in July 2023.

Read also: Two platforms in the middle of the fields: in Orne, Surdon station is “vital” to reach Paris

A recovery path “under study”

The 550 m² building, made up of six rooms and three restaurant rooms, lost customers year after year. However, the municipality and the owner of the walls wish to keep this service near Surdon station, a platform very frequented by users of the Paris-Granville and Caen-Tours lines. “A path is being studied, confirms the mayor. We hope to have an answer by March or April. This hotel is important for maintaining activity in our town. »

The elected officials attached to the dynamism of this small station are always “under discussion” with the SNCF to obtain a plot of land to create a parking lot. The objective is to ease the flow of cars and secure access to take the train.