mobilization to bring the project to fruition

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To go to Conches-en-Ouche and participate in apple festival which took place on Sunday October 27, 2024, Xavier Braud watched the trains departing from Brionne. The first, and the only one offered, arrived at 7:29 p.m. A little late to enjoy the festivities…

Brionne station, with 20 stops per day, saw its rail service increase significantly in 2024 on the Rouen-Caen line. But reaching Évreux, or Conches-en-Ouche, is too often an obstacle course, due to a lack of sufficient connections.

The situation would be different if an old idea, already mentioned in the past but never seriously studied until then, saw the light of day: connecting Évreux to Rouen by trainand vice versa, passing through Serquigny.

Terminate an anomaly

It was in Serquigny that a press conference took place on Wednesday October 23 to present this project for which the Brionne Eco-mobilities associationchaired by Xavier Braud, was particularly involved with the support of numerous elected officials, signatories of a letter to Hervé Morinpresident of the Normandy Region, the transport organizing authority.

” It is a totally depoliticized approachserving the general interest, testifies Jérôme Pasco, mayor and president of the community of communes of Conches-en-Ouche. Citizens must know that we are taking care of the future of the territory. »

The absence of a rail link between the prefectures of Eure and Seine-Maritime is considered to be a significant anomaly. Passing through Serquigny, without changes or connections, would be a simple, pragmatic and inexpensive solution.

It is technically possible. Serquigny is a railway junction with branch lines between Rouen and Caen and between Caen and Paris. There is a need to reactivate a bar which would allow without reversing, without going down, to connect the south of the Eure to the economic capital of Normandy.

This would involve opening passenger trains to traffic. a section of less than two kilometerswhich passes in the immediate vicinity of the Arkema site and is used exclusively today for the transport of goods.

An audit of the condition of the track will be necessary. A level crossing will need to be automated, at an estimated cost of €345,000, and a dock will need to be built. “The feasibility study has been carried out. The infrastructure is already there and there will be zero land consumption. The investments would be very reasonable”, and therefore much less expensive than opening a new line, argues Frédéric Delamare.

Leaving the stations of isolation

On day 113 kmthe journey from Évreux to Rouen, via the detour via Serquigny, could be included between 1:15 a.m. and 1:30 a.m.a competitive duration compared to the time spent in a coach, and in more comfortable conditions.

For illustration, the town of Brionne would only be 37 minutes from Évreux (one hour by bus). In the other direction, travelers could be dropped off directly at Rouen stationwhich will facilitate connections with other cities (Le Havre, Amiens, Lille, etc.).

This project would also have the advantage of supporting the strong increase in ridership at Brionne and Grand-Bourgtheroulde, and of removing a certain number of small stations between Évreux and Serquigny from isolation, those of Beaumont-le-Roger, Romilly-la-Puthenaye, Conches or La Bonneville-sur-Iton.

“Global warming is an absolute emergency and this would contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by abandoning the car in favor of the train, a much safer mode of transport when we know that there are 3,500 deaths on French roads each year”, adds Xavier Braud, also seeing this as a good signal sent to the revival of public services.

A vector of attractiveness

According to a study carried out in 2022, the traffic potential would be of the order of 3,100 trips per day on this connection between Evreux and Rouen.

This is low-cost land development. This opportunity is an important vector of attractiveness for our municipalities which are not the most favored demographically and economically. To attract new residents and regain employment, if journeys between home and work are shortened.

The stakes are high in a living area of ​​around 225,000 inhabitantsbetween the towns of Évreux, Conches, Bernay and Roumois Seine. “It is a social and societal subject, which resonates with developments in society regarding mobility and work,” insists Jérôme Pasco.

The chosen one particularly thinks to the thousands of students from the south of Eure forced to find accommodation in Rouen when a reinforced rail offer would allow them to continue living at home.

The difficulties

The saturation of Rouen station during peak hours is one of the difficulties this project could face. “But it’s not insurmountable,” replies Xavier Braud, who is banking on a change in timetables by 2027.

Concerning rolling stock“purchasing new trains is not necessarily the solution that is required,” he says. The simplest thing would be to use those that are underused, even if their speed is lower.”

As for the operating costs of this line, “there would be a remaining liability of 1.7 million euros per year for the Region, it is very modest compared to others”, comments the president of Brionne Eco-mobilités.

The leaders of this strategic project mention an experimental phase of three years which would make it possible to evaluate attendance and user feedback. Two round trips would be offered initially (one in the morning before 8 a.m. and another in the evening around 5:30 p.m.) with the possibility of increasing the frequency depending on the results.

“Occupy the land”

Local mobilization is strong around this idea. “We have to occupy the ground,” defends Jérôme Pasco. Everyone hopes to convince the two decision-makers, the Normandy Region and the SNCF. as a fundamental deadline approachesthat of new calls for tenders relating to rail transport services.

“It is absolutely necessary that this Evreux-Rouen line be integrated into the specifications of the Region,” warns the Federation of User Associations. On the day of the press conference, elected officials were still waiting for a response from Hervé Morin.

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