Breakdowns and works
The CGN announces the return of three of its “vapors”
Ships Belle -era immobilized will resume service. The “Montreux” in a month, then the “Savoy” in October and the “Rhône” this spring.
The “Montreux” in repair in Lausanne-Ouchy. He will regain service, officially on September 1.
CHANTAL DERVEY
- The CGN will put three steam ships into service between August 2025 and spring 2026.
- The first to restart, the Montreux, experienced a surprising mishap on its bow helms.
- The Savoy underwent an in -depth renovation of his shell while the Rhône had problems with cylinders and pistons.
- The flagship Switzerland remains immobilized for an indefinite period while the Simplon should resume service in 2030.
In mid-summer, the General Navigation Company on Lake Geneva (CGN) wants to forget the politico-media storm that struck it before the holidays. Controversy on a Strategic plan 2025-2040 at 500 million francs. And above all, the immobilization of the five steam ships of its magnificent Belle era heritagemade up a total of eight boats, including three with diesel-electric propulsion.
At the Ouchy shipyard, which the company wishes to equip with a second work pool (known as Radoub), President Benoît Gaillard and Director General Vincent Pellissier, arrived on 1is May, intend to turn the page on the setbacks of “vapors”. Seriously damaged in Cully on March 28, 2024, the Simplon remains emblematic of the Black series of the CGN. In 2025, the breakdowns of Rhône Then the flagship Switzerland aggravated it, while the Montreux and the Savoy were already under construction. Three of these ships will take over the lake in the coming months.
The “Montreux” opens the wake
The Montreux will be the first, from 1is september. “We will carry out trial races next week,” says Benoît Gaillard. The technical mishap of this ship – commissioned in 1904 – illustrates the delicate maintenance of the Belle Epole fleet.
First, the boiler of this vested ship in the 1990s was to undergo maintenance work. But now his bow propellers (at the front), which facilitate side maneuvers, posed an unexpected problem.
For security reasons, the manufacturer of the batteries which feeds them decided to recall them out of warranty. The technicians then install a generator. Gas exhaust openings must therefore be provided. And since the architecture of the boat is protected, the approval of heritage services is necessary. All the work cost 350,000 francs.
Large work on “Savoy”
The Savoy (1914) is still in the Radoub basin. The workers refurbished the shell, which had insufficient thicknesses due to wear. Specialists are busy repainting the wheels with bright red. “We are good for twenty years on the hull,” notes Vincent Pellissier. The ship will find the lake in September for tests before resuming service in October. The price of this project amounts to 1.4 million francs, rudder and new flavor powered.
“Savoy” during its renovation.
CHANTAL DERVEY
The Rhône (1927) had the concerns of cylinders and pistons. “Parts in the machinery have been reusinated abroad,” said Vincent Pellissier. It will be put in service in the spring of 2026, after work whose price is around that of Montreux.
Admirers of Switzerland (1910) will have to wait. “The machine has cracks due to a design defect which dates back to more than a century,” notes Vincent Pellissier. The diagnosis is made, but it remains to clarify the nature of the work, more or less in depth. And the Simplon (1920)? The time horizon of its restart remains 2030.
The summer season on Lake Geneva is extended in September
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The immobilization of the five “vapors” caused a reduction in tourist services by 30% this spring and this summer. Schedules have been reduced and tugging have ceased to be served by the CGN. The repercussions on the attendance of passengers in the tourism sector were not long overdue: including July, disturbed by the weather, the decline reaches 20%. At the end of June, the decline rose 12.6% for 205,000 passengers.
The company reacts by extending its summer schedule by two weeks, from August 31 to September 13. In financial terms, the commercial revenues of the first half reach 13.439 million, up 0.1%. The growth in public transport attendance (Lausanne-Évian, Nyon-Yvoire) rose 2% at the end of June (968,000 passengers). It compensated for the tourist drop in the accounts.
To avoid such variations in the future, the CGN intends to “get out of the logic of the bitch,” bletz “on our boats, to replace it with a preventive and proactive maintenance approach”, recalls Benoît Gaillard.
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