Train traffic between Paris and Milan has been suspended for “at least several days,” the French railway company SNCF announced this morning, following the severe storms that hit the area around Modane in the Maurienne Valley of Savoie on Monday.
Cleanup operations are underway on the tracks, while SNCF expressed hope that the rail infrastructure hasn’t suffered damage—something that would prolong the suspension of service.
Rail service was halted at 5:00 p.m. on Monday after powerful storms broke out following a heatwave, causing major mudslides that covered the tracks at Modane station—the last stop before the Italian border.
SNCF operates three round-trip services daily between Milan and Paris. The two cities are also connected by the Italian railway company Trenitalia, which uses the same tracks as the French service.
The storms triggered a historically large flash flood in the alpine Maurienne Valley. However, as of Monday night, no casualties had been reported, according to the Savoie prefecture.
Cleanup operations began this morning in the three communities most severely affected—Fourneaux, Modane, and Saint-Colomban-des-Villards—by the unprecedented flooding of the Charmen stream. Around one hundred basements in homes, shops, and public buildings were flooded.
Italy is also experiencing severe storms along with an ongoing heatwave.
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