Europe 1 with AFP 6:37 p.m., January 23, 2024
The Minister of Ecological Transition Christophe Béchu announced to AFP on Tuesday that he had summoned the CEO of SNCF Jean-Pierre Farandou after the breakdown of a locomotive on the Paris-Clermont, which stranded 700 travelers overnight on a train in the cold last Friday.
Jean-Pierre Farandou "will have to propose to me on Friday a plan of concrete and immediate measures" for this line regularly affected by incidents, indicated Christophe Béchu, specifying that he would share the content of this plan "within two weeks with elected officials and actors in the field.
“What SNCF users experienced on Friday on the Paris-Clermont line is not only unbearable, but adds to the various incidents that are far too frequent on this line,” insisted the minister, whose scope also includes Transport. .
"This situation can not continue"
“This situation cannot continue,” he added.
Last Friday, a train that left Paris at 6:57 p.m. did not arrive in Clermont until 6:00 a.m. the next day, more than seven hours late.
The train, whose locomotive broke down, had to be repaired to Montargis station where meal trays were distributed, before continuing its route to its final destination later that night.
Passengers shared on social networks their dismay in a train without heat, electricity or water.
According to the newspaper La Montagne, Emmanuel Macron himself asked for “immediate explanations” and for “sanctions to be taken”.
A billion euros of work on this line
The Intercité Paris-Clermont line is known for its repeated delays, regularly denounced by its users.
A program to modernize the line has been launched, notably with the arrival of new trains, called “Oxygène”, whose delivery is planned for 2026.
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The State has also undertaken work on the line to the tune of one billion euros, a first tranche of which was released by the former Minister for Transport Clément Beaune in November.