Frejus develops
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Mont Cenis to go MI
BETTER road links and new customs and haulage facilities are due to be opened soon for the France-Italy Frejus Tunnel — but it may ultimately lead to the closure of the Mont Cenis Pass.
Opened in 1980 (see CM Octo. ber 9, 1982) as a year-round alternative to Mont Cenis the 12.9km (8 miles) Frejus Tunnel initially suffered from poor road connections on the Italian side from the tunnel mouth at Bardonecchia to Turin. To rectify this, a new autostrada is planned and the first 8km (5 miles) section at the tunnel entrance is due to open at the end of this month.
A new Autoport (combined customs, vetinary facilities and haulage services) was completed last month at Susa on the Italian side but this is not yet staffed.
Representatives of the tunnel's French operating company claimed this week that when the Susa Autoport is operational, customs at the Mont Cenis Pass will be withdrawn and that the road through the Pass will cease to be maintained by the Italian authorities and will eventually close. The Road Haulage Association is considering an agreement with the Frejus Tunnel operating companies to promote a pooling arrangement so that RHA members can take advantage of additional multi-journey toll discounts.
It is unlikely that a single haulier will make enough jour neys through the Frejus to qualify for the extra discount offered but a pooling arrangement among RHA members would make this possible. A similar agreement is already working for French and Belgian hauliers.
After a slow start, commercial traffic through the Frejus is said to be increasing and there has been a 30 per cent rise in the number of lorries using the tunnel between the first and second quarters of this year. The amount of British commercial traffic has risen from 272 lorries and 17 coaches in October last year to 700 lorries and 43 coaches this May.
A bottleneck on the French side of the tunnel over a narrow bridge at St Michel-de-Maurienne will be relieved next January when a new by-pass is due to open.
French Government restrictions will limit the toll increases for the rest of this year to a four per cent rise in October.