A short but important section of the railway in Calais will undergo modernisation starting in July. The 4,4 kilometres long track between the port of Calais and the Calais-Ville railway station will be upgraded as part of a two-stage project aiming to triple freight traffic from three-four daily trains to fifteen roundtrips.

The project is jointly financed by the French government and the Hauts-de-France region. The total investment will amount to 53 million euros, with 81 per cent of the funds coming from the government and 19 per cent from the regional body.

New tracks and bridge

Part of the upgrade commencing in July will also be the replacement of the Mollien railway bridge which is part of the Calais mainline. The old structure will be replaced by a new 225-ton bridge installed over the Calais Canal between 28 and 31 October in a 90-hour continuous operation. The bridge will be pre-built and transported to the location to be installed as a finished structure.

Additionally, as part of the track upgrade, SNCF Reseau will install 900 hundred metres of acoustic panels along where the line passes through dense residential areas. Their installation will take place in August. This is the first part of the Calais main line upgrade. The second, which still has no fixed timeframe, will include the study and respective construction of alternative routes between the port of Calais and the route leading to Calais-Ville.