Monaco’s efforts to resolve Nice-Ventimiglia train debacle prove fruitful

Since the shock announcement that evening and early morning trains between Nice and Ventimiglia would be cancelled for a full nine months, the Monaco Government has been working hard to find a solution to the chaos the plans mean for commuters and visitors to the Principality.

Following a series of high-level discussions that culminated last week with a meeting between Céline Caron-Dagioni, Monaco’s Minister of Equipment, Environment and Urban Planning, and Jean-Pierre Serrus, Vice-President of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region in charge of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, as well as representatives from SNCF Voyageurs and SNCF Réseau, the Monaco Government has achieved its goal of finding a viable workaround to the mass cancellations.

Initially, the SNCF had announced that all trains after 9om and before 6am would be cancelled from Sunday through Thursday until 26th June 2025. The cancellations, the national network said, were necessary in order for workers to perform essential maintenance works and upgrades to sections of the line between Nice and Ventimiglia. More information on this can be found here.

The Monaco Government, however, immediately fought back against these plans, with Minister of State Didier Guillaume saying, “I am deeply shocked to read that trains will no longer stop in Monaco from 9 PM onwards. This is unacceptable. We must be respected with a certain quality of service and not just be considered as financial contributors.”

Read more: Monaco Government shocked at SNCF rail disruptions, calling the last-minute announcement “unacceptable”

Its efforts to hammer out a solution have now, thankfully, proved fruitful, and the finer details of these alternative travel services were confirmed on Monday 23rd September by the government. They include a reduction in the number of evening cancellations as well as an expanded bus replacement programme.

Evening services

The last evening train from Monaco to Nice will now depart at 10.02pm, meaning that the 10.10pm, 10.18pm and 11.20pm trains will still be cancelled. Two replacement buses will depart the Principality at 10.45pm and 11.30pm in a bid to make up for the lack of train links.  

In the direction of Menton and Ventimiglia, the last train will now leave Monaco at 9.55pm. The 10.18pm, 10.46pm and 11.14pm trains will be scrapped. Replacement buses will be leaving the Principality at 10.45pm and 11.15pm.  

Early morning services 

There will be no cancellations to the early morning train services from Nice to Monaco. As usual, the first train will depart Nice at 5.40am. 

The first train from Ventimiglia will be at 5.47am, meaning that the earlier 5.17am train will still be cancelled. Instead, passengers can use the 5.15am replacement bus from Ventimiglia or hop on at Menton at 5.45am.  

“Based on observed usage, the composition of bus replacements may be adjusted to correspond to demand and actual passenger attendance,” says a representative for the Monaco Government.

Event days

Train services will be fully restored in the event of a major sporting occasion in Monaco, such as the three upcoming UEFA Champions League matches at the Stade Louis II.

Read related:

Nice-Ventimiglia night train: new deal to keep trains running during rail upgrades

 

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Photo source: Monaco Government