Charente Libre visited the site last week: the alarm warns the workers, who work on one of the two tracks, of the passage of a train over the other.
From 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“Two horn blasts before each passage in the morning until 11:30 a.m., then from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.,” confirms Patrick Chaumeil, project manager at SNCF Réseau, which is leading the work. It’s regulatory. » Between noon and two, train traffic is interrupted, like the siren. “It’s still just as strong, it’s obligatory,” explains a worker. We have nothing to do with SNCF standards. »
“There is no respect for local residents,” thunders Manuel Gomes, parking his van in front of his house, at the edge of the railway tracks. Despite 50 years spent on construction sites, including railways, the retired mason claims to have “never seen a construction site like this”. “They have to warn the people who are working, but here, it exceeds a hundred times what is usually done,” explains the septuagenarian. This isn’t the first project they’ve done here, but it’s the first time it’s this strong. This really crosses the line. »
“You end up getting used to it, it’s like the TGV”
He claims to have heard the alarm from the “Séminaire” bus stop, rue de Bordeaux, more than 600m away. On the other side, you can hear it almost all the way to rue de Montmoreau. “We cannot lower the noise level, that’s the regulation,” recalls Patrick Chaumeil, from SNCF Réseau.
Manuel Gomes’ neighbor, Blandine Adenis, 78, lives on the other side of the construction site. “It’s non-stop, from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m.,” says the ex-psychologist, recently retired. A drop of water that breaks the camel’s back in a neighborhood that is deteriorating, she judges. Malfunction of the street lights, graffiti on her house, fire in a neighboring building… After 35 years in this house, the septuagenarian is completely considering leaving the city. “I only have one thing on my mind, and that is to leave here,” she says. But how can you resell the house with this noise level? There is something to laugh about. »
“It’s non-stop, from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. »
For the laugh, you’ll have to count on Nicole Duteil, who lives a little further down, rue du chemin de fer. “No need to wake up in the morning, we are woken up by the bugle. It’s unbearable. » Like some of her neighbors, the retiree puts things into perspective. “They have to work,” she plays down. We end up getting used to it, it’s like the TGVs passing by: I hardly hear them anymore! You have to live with it… We’re not going to let the guys get crushed! »
Patience: the work must end on April 27, according to SNCF Réseau.
