If ‘teletravail’ – working from home – becomes more popular in Monaco as the pandemic continues this will prove particularly useful in the autumn, when a major disruption is planned to the rail link between Nice and the Principality.

Starting on September 1, expensive work will start on the tunnels of Cimiez – between Nice Ville and Nice Riquier – and Villefranche-sur-mer. It will mean that trains will use only one track at a time and is expected to cause major disruption.

The Villefranche tunnel is 1.5 kilometres long and dates back to 1868. This work will involve the bigger expenditure, at 12 million euros, train operator SNCF said this week. Karim Touati, the director of SNCF’s Paca region, said that a new reinforced concrete casing will be needed.

He guarantee that the work will be carried out with the precision of a Swiss clock. For those familiar with SNCF’s time-keeping, this is an interesting prospect.