“We usually”. To Lesparre-Medoc
a public meeting on the arrival of the metropolitan RER
in the Medoc, expected between 2028 and 2030, was held on 2 November. While the first trains have been running since 2021 between Arcachon and Libourne, the Médocs will be the last Girondins to see their rail traffic increase.
“We are always the last wheel of the carriage in the Médoc, it’s unfortunate to say”says Sylvie, a resident of Soussans. “In Arcachon they don’t need it, but we continue to set up infrastructure. Whereas we need it but…”blows her husband, Bruno. “It is always the same who are privileged”concludes Sylvie.
Marie-Anne recalls that the Médocans were “the last to have decent trains. We have had comfortable trains for travelers on our line for about 10 years”. But this retiree from Saint-Vivien-de-Médoc nevertheless welcomes the arrival of the metropolitan RERwhich should ultimately serve 54 railway stations and stops in the department every half hour, between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. “The cultural offer is still Bordeaux. So we want to be able to go there from time to time”she points out.
The hope of spending less time in transport
Bordeaux precisely, Stéphanie works there. For a year, she has been round trip daily between the Gironde capital and Lesparre-Médoc. If she’s not sure “to be able to wait” 2030 and the arrival of the metropolitan RER in his town, this would allow him to spend less time in transport. “Today, I don’t get home before 6.30 p.m., whereas I finish at 4.30 p.m. And again, if my 5 p.m. train at Bordeaux station is there… Otherwise, I have to wait for ‘after”explains Stephanie.
As for the mayor of Lesparre-Médoc, Bernard Guiraud
, he also regrets that the Médoc is the last Gironde territory to be served by the metropolitan RER. But he considers his arrival to be positive: “We are in full swing, we have a lot of companies that want to settle. So this would allow people who live in the metropolis to come and work with us in better conditions”predicts the chosen one.
Bus schedules unsuited to those of the trains
But before the RER unfolds, we must first think to other modes of transport. “There are no good connections between buses and trains today”, according to Hannes Linck. This association manager in Montalivet specifies that “either the buses arrive too early or they arrive too late” in relation to the arrival and departure times of trains at Lesparre-Médoc station. Which results in much longer journey times. “If there are good connections from Montalivet, it takes two hours to go to Bordeaux. But it’s more like 3h30 in general”assures Hannes Linck, who proposes to set up a “intermodal communication node” at Lesparre-Médoc station, i.e. from make the schedules coincide buses with those of the trains.
“We are going to have a work meeting, get everyone around the table to see what we can do”answers Frédéric Mellier, president of the transport commission of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region
. “It is necessary that indeed the correspondences, even if they are not of five minutes, are ensured between the buses and the trains”.
A last public meeting on the metropolitan RER is in any case planned this November 7 in Bordeaux, from 6:30 p.m. at the headquarters of the metropolis. The public consultation continues online, on the site dedicated to the railway project
, until November 19.