From September to December 2025, a geotechnical drilling campaign is underway on SNCF freight line 027000 between Nançois-Tronville and Gondrecourt-le-Château stations.
These preliminary elements will serve as the basis for modernising the line on which trains carrying radioactive materials and packages to Cigéo will run in a few years' time, if authorised.;

The preliminary work for the Cigéo project is not limited to the area envisaged for the future radioactive waste storage centre. Since September 2025, as part of the DR0 project, numerous boreholes have been drilled along the former SNCF 027000 freight line between Nançois-Tronville and Gondrecourt-le-Château stations.

In accordance with SNCF Réseau's specifications, ABO GROUP France is undertaking to carry out approximately 300 boreholes along the railway line, as part of the geotechnical survey requested between 4 and 15 metres deep. These surveys should provide a better understanding of the structure of the subsoil and the nature of the terrain crossed by this 36-kilometre-long railway line, which has been closed in several stages, with the last section, between Nançois-sur-Ornain and Velaines, having been out of service since February 2021.

Calibrated for the next hundred years

The investigations carried out by ABO GROUP France, including ABO ERG Géotechnique, with the assistance of partner AVENIR FORAGE in order to meet tight deadlines, combine several complementary methods. «Approximately every 500 metres, we carry out mechanical shovel surveys and piezometric drilling to monitor groundwater levels over a period of one year,» explains Robin Boissonnet, geotechnical engineer at ABO-ERG GEOTECHNIQUE. We supplement these investigations with core and pressuremeter surveys conducted at various points along the route, particularly on engineering structures, in order to measure soil resistance and foundation stability."

All of this data will be used to establish a detailed geotechnical profile of the line, which will serve as a baseline for the design studies to be conducted in 2026. These parameters are essential for the design of the future modernisation project led by SNCF Réseau, which will transform this line into a modernised, conventional, non-electrified freight route, capable of eventually serving the Cigéo industrial storage centre. It will be calibrated to handle eight trains per day (six of which will be reserved for Andra) during its 100 years of operation. «The modernisation of this line could therefore also benefit the local economy,» emphasises Joël Felten, operations manager for SNCF Réseau.

Expected opening date: February 2032

Conducted under administrative authorisation and financed by Andra, this campaign takes into account local environmental sensitivities, particularly in the Ornain Valley. The work avoids wetlands and watercourses, limits the impact on natural environments and is accompanied by environmental monitoring of the site by another subsidiary of ABO GROUP France, ABO SEGED environnement.

These operations are a precursor to the major modernisation work planned for 2030, with a scheduled reopening in 2032. Once renovated, the Nançois-Tronville – Gondrecourt-le-Château line will be an essential link in the future rail network serving the Cigéo centre, transporting the equipment needed for the work, as well as packages of radioactive waste once they can be stored there. It will also offer new opportunities for freight transport in the Meuse region.