chateau-des-vives-eaux-2022

The trees at the Star Academy castle have cut down the RER D again: SNCF files complaint against the owner

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The Editor

© PONTET / Wikimedia Commons

We all know there are plenty of reasons that can affect train traffic on the Île-de-France Mobilités (IDFM) network. But when we found out that it was the trees from the Star Academy castle causing numerous delays on the RER D line, well, let's just say we were pretty surprised! Here's what happened.

Last weekend, Storm Austen wreaked havoc through the streets of the capital and its surroundings, causing quite a few disruptions to transportation, affecting both RER and Transilien trains as well as long-distance trains. The culprit? Branches and trees on the tracks, some of which came from the prestigious Dammarie-lès-Lys château. Starting to get the picture?


Enough is enough

For the past few weeks now, Star Academy has been back on air for an anniversary season marking 25 years of the show. 17 students have settled in at the Dammarie-lès-Lys château, which has found itself in quite the storm ever since. The reason? Not the proliferation of off-key notes and increasingly tempting guest appearances

from teachers, but rather the far too frequent uprooting of trees on the property. Indeed, since the beginning of the year, vegetation has fallen several times onto railway lines managed by the SNCF, located very nearby, causing traffic disruptions. In January for example, traffic had been interrupted for no fewer than five days following the passage of Storm Goretti. The same thing happened again last weekend, when traffic was cut off for no less than 6 hours. A more than painful situation, particularly for commuters, in the face of which the railway company decided to take action.


Who is responsible?

For its part, the railway company claims to have contacted the owner of the Vives-Eaux château on numerous occasions, sending registered letters and formal notices, until filing a complaint on January 14th. Meanwhile, the château owner — who lives in the south of France — claims he knew nothing about it. What's more, he says he hired a gardener following the January storm to trim all the trees presenting a potential risk — the property has between 30,000 and 50,000 of them, running alongside the tracks for a kilometer. Yet according to a decree from the Mobility Guidance Law (LOM) introduced in 2022, he is indeed responsible for the situation. The ruling requires property ownersadjacent to rails with maintaining their land to ensure the safety and flow of tracks and trains. The question remains whether Mosimann's students will be called upon to help maintain the property in the coming days. In the meantime, we're wishing lots of patience to the RER D commuters, and we're heading back to face thetroubles awaiting us this week on the worst line in Paris.