MIL OSI Translation. Government of the Republic of France statements from French to English –
Source: Canton of Neuchatel Switzerland
09.26.2024
Upgrading the railway facilities on the Le Locle – Les Brenets line required the analysis of different scenarios. The one chosen involves the creation of a new electric bus link at the end of 2031, connecting the Place du 1er Août to the Pargots car park on the banks of the Doubs via the Col des Roches industrial zone. An extension to Villers-le-Lac is planned in the long term. The current railway route will be reassigned as a greenway.
The railway facilities on the 3.8-kilometre Le Locle – Les Brenets line need to be completely renovated. The rolling stock and stops do not comply with LHand standards and several infrastructure works are reaching the end of their life.
Various alternative service scenarios were examined, in accordance with the Federal Ordinance on Concessions, Planning and Financing of Railway Infrastructure. Studies conducted in partnership between the canton, the Confederation, transN and the city of Le Locle show that service by a new electric bus line provides the best cost-benefit ratio.
The first project planned to reassign the railway platform between Le Locle station and the cantonal road at the bottom of Les Frêtes for the passage of the electric bus. The preliminary project carried out in 2023 revealed, following additional geological surveys, significant additional costs, in particular for the resumption of the profile of the Combe-Monterban tunnel at the exit of Le Locle station, as well as a longer duration of the works. It was therefore decided to adapt the route of the electric bus via the cantonal road to the west of Le Locle. The commissioning from 2031 of the developments related to the N20 bypass tunnels will ensure good commercial speed. The current railway platform will be redeveloped into a greenway, allowing a significant development of soft mobility.
The new electric bus line project will be implemented in two phases. The first will include a terminus at the Parking des Pargots in Les Brenets, thus offering an alternative to motorized commuter flows from the end of 2031. The second phase, which will have a terminus in Villers-le-Lac, will eventually expand the user base.
In the immediate future, the maintenance work carried out by transN will ensure railway operations until 2031, the deadline for commissioning the developments related to the N20 Le Locle bypass motorway tunnel.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and/or sentence structure not be perfect.