GCF worksites active in France

Renewal works underway on French railway tracks

At the beginning of 2026, GCF has launched two worksites in the French regions of Grand Est and Hauts-de-France for the renewal of important sections of the national railway network.

On line 001000 Paris Est – Mulhouse, GCF has started a worksite to renew the rails and, in certain sections, carry out more extensive ballast rehabilitation and track replacement operations. Meanwhile, the second GCF worksite in France for 2026 has been launched in the Hauts-de-France region.

Works on line 001000, in the Grand Est region – Haut-Rhin department, along the southern section between Altkirch and Mulhouse stations – are scheduled to continue until June. Phase 1 will focus on track 2 between kilometre points 490+176 – 488+821 and 488+765 – 483+960. Phase 2 will subsequently involve interventions on track 1, particularly on the three sections between kilometre points 488+430 – 485+200, 482+040 – 481+620, and 456+252 – 455+455..

The work plan includes the replacement of 18,384 metres of rails, thermal stress adjustment of both rails over 11,718 metres of continuous welded rail (CWR), and the execution of 228 aluminothermic welds. Tamping and levelling operations are also planned over more than 10 km of track, along with track replacement works near two level crossings.

All track operations will be carried out at night, from Monday to Friday, under simultaneous traffic interruption lasting 7 hours. Two worksite bases have been set up in Riedisheim and in the Mulhouse Nord railway yard, where, due to the Seveso risk related to the transport of hazardous goods, a specific safety plan has been implemented, including mandatory behavioural measures and emergency response procedures.

RVB Tergnier 2026 – line 242 000

In the town of Tergnier, in the Hauts-de-France region – Aisne department – the base camp has been established for the worksite recently launched along line 242 000 to carry out the complete renewal of tracks and ballast within the station area.

In particular, during the planned five-week period, night works will focus on levelling track 1 from km 130+300 to km 131+900 using a tamping machine and a track regulator, while on track 2 the old rails and sleepers will be replaced using pre-assembled track sections from the yard set up in Laon, which is also used for storing rails, sleepers, and ballast required for the intervention.

“The track sections, either 9 metres long (comprising 15 sleepers) or 12 metres long (20 sleepers),” explains Sabino Carbone from GCF’s French Management, “after being assembled in the yard at night, are transported onto the line to be positioned, welded with aluminothermic welds, and subsequently subjected to thermal stress adjustment.”

While adjacent tracks to the one under maintenance are protected, the other station tracks are not; therefore, all operations are monitored by a specially appointed safety agent to ensure worker protection. In addition, as the Tergnier marshalling yard handles and transports hazardous goods, a detailed safety plan has been implemented to mitigate risks associated with the area, classified as a “Seveso zone”.

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