Blockade delays tunnel access
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• Trucks are facing severe delays at the Frejus Tunnel. Drivers are blockading the tunnel to protest against the French government's decision to restrict the number of HGVs travelling through it to a maximum of 140 per hour.
The restriction was imposed in response to the closure of the Mort Blanc tunnel following the recent fire (CM 1-7 April) and a strike on French railways that has slashed rail freight traffic between France and Italy by 50%. Frustrated drivers launched the blockade last week. It is over, but the backlog it created is still causing delays of up to eight hours.
The French government has amended the restriction to 160 lorries per hour, and stresses that this is only a temporary measure.
III Police have found another charred body in the wreckage of a lorry following the fire in the Mont Blanc tunnel on 24 March, bringing the death toll to 42. The body could rot be identified.