Serm de Montpellier: how the future mobility plan will impact Sète and the Thau basin ?

La gare de Sète perd des TGV, mais gagne en fréquence et en amplitude pour les trains vers Montpellier. Illustration Midi Libre – NICOLAS ZARROUK

Unveiled a few days ago, the vast mobility project in the urban area of ​​Montpellier should bring our territory closer to the regional capital by 2034.

Four words summarized in the acronym Serm, and which alone carry the future of the transport routes around the Hérault capital. The Occitanie region unveiled its Metropolitan Regional Express Service last Thursday, a large-scale plan designed to streamline traffic around the urban area of ​​Montpellier, from Lunellois to the Heart of Hérault… and up to the Thau basin. The Serm is currently only at the project stage, and can only be done with "a financial commitment from the State commensurate with the climate challenges and the needs of this territory", specifies the Region.

An LGV which "negatively impacts" the territory

The inhabitants of the Thau basin could, by 2030 then 2034, be impacted by two major changes. The first concerns the Sète SNCF station and the future Frontignan station, which have lost most of the TGVs since the commissioning of the Montpellier-Perpignan high-speed line. "This new line is certainly decisive on a regional, French and even European scale, but it has a negative impact on users of the Thau basin since only two to three TGVs will ultimately pass through Sète, concedes the mayor and president of the Agglo François Commeinhes.We need compensation for this loss of mobility, and the Serm project will put a greater number of regional trains on the rails, by improving the frequencies and timetables between Sète and Montpellier. ."

The project unveiled on May 23 by the different communities. D.R.

More regional trains on the coastal line

In detail, the project promises larger trains, a passage between 5 a.m. and 11 p.m., and up to one train every ten minutes during peak hours. "When you have spectators from the Théâtre Molière or the Théâtre de la Mer who come from Montpellier and cannot return by train, or users who regularly stay on the platform due to lack of space, this plan comes into its own sense. We will now have to ensure that the promises are kept."

Sète Agglopôle Méditerranée has been participating in exchanges with other communities for two years, and has included its own circulation plan in this timing, so that the future metropolitan regional express service will connect to the multimodal exchange hubs. ;from Frontignan and Sète and, through the latter, to express buses between Sète and Balaruc-le-Vieux. Work "on two axes, along the coast and between the north and south of the Thau basin".

A line of "cars express" between Montpellier and Poussan

The second point of the Serm concerns the north of the basin, and the creation of an "express coach" line. between Montpellier and Poussan. An 8 M&euro project; and commissioning announced for 2028. "It’s a surprise, since we had not been warned. But it’s quite a nice surprise! We will now have to look at the details of the route. It will not replace the loss of TGV at Sète station but it will be a big asset for our residents, some of whom regularly go to Montpellier", confides the mayor of Poussan, Florence Sanchez .

Could this new express bus service push certain member municipalities of Sète Agglopôle to move a little closer to the metropolis of Montpellier, even as Montbazin, Poussan or Gigean are eyeing the future Cournonterral high school for their students ? "The Urban Travel Plan for 2030 supported by Sète Agglopôle Méditerranée will make it possible to streamline exchanges between the north and south of territory, in particular by calming traffic on the RD2", reassures François Commeinhes. For Florence Sanchez, the debate is not political. "Our citizens don't care about administrative borders. They are historically and culturally oriented towards Sète, but if they can have facilities to get to Montpellier, they will be delighted!"

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