Line B of the Lyon metro, automated since the summer, is the victim of a "black series".
Five "major incidents" paralyzing the line for several hours were recorded in one month.
The causes of these unprecedented hiccups are of different origins.
However, the network is not immune to new malfunctions.
"It's really painful."
The repeated breakdowns observed on the metro line B in Lyon ended up overwhelming the users.
"The problem is that we can no longer trust, we never know what will happen," laments Elisa, a mother residing in Oullins (Rhône).
"There are far too many failures in close proximity not to be concerned, all things considered," adds David, a daily user.
And to testify: “Tuesday evening, the metro stopped for three minutes.
Everyone looked at each other and said, "Ah no, not yet. It's starting again".
This time it was just a false alarm.
For the past month, the line, which was automated at the beginning of the summer, has been the victim of a "black series".
Five “major incidents” requiring several hours of interruption were recorded.
On Thursday, September 22, 1,500 passengers stranded underground had to wait nearly two hours before being evacuated through the tunnels.
Others, no longer having the patience to wait, themselves forced the doors of the cars to rush onto the subway tracks.
“My son was in the train that was evacuated last.
They had to walk through the tunnel, he was not reassured, says Elisa.
From now on, he apprehends, whereas he was autonomous since the re-entry and that he took the subway alone.
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Major incidents and regular minor breakdowns
Apart from these "major incidents", users also frequently have to deal with small breakdowns, which do not require traffic to be stopped for an indefinite period, but which turn out to be just as penalizing.
In recent weeks, Elisa's family has been forced to reorganize.
His children now leave "an hour and a half in advance" to go to school or college, in the center of Lyon.
“Otherwise, they come late to class.
Last time the subway stopped several times for five minutes each time.
The journey took forty-five minutes, more than double the time required, explains the mother.
It's a shame because, when there is no malfunction, it's very fast.
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“When it works, it's super practical, abounds David, who goes every day by metro in the Gerland district.
Friday morning, learning that the line had been completely shut down since it opened at 5:40 a.m., he decided to telecommute.
The other times, he had to fall back on alternative solutions.
"If I don't have urgent appointments, I take the tram to make a detour via Perrache station to take another metro, even if it's not ideal," he explains.
But other times, I had to call to be picked up by car, especially since the buses are packed.
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“Automation is not a long calm river”
"We are going through a complicated period," admits Keolis, the network operator.
The automation of line B, 40 years old, is not "a long calm river".
In reality, it turns out to be relatively complex.
If the Ugic-CGT union denounces “a low cost line”, whose automation was done in “rush, when everything was not necessarily settled”, the operator denies it.
"If everything was not ready, the authorities would not have validated its implementation", he explains before recalling that all failures do not have the same causes.
That of September 22 remains to this day still unexplained.
"We clearly don't know what happened, we are still looking for the reasons," says Keolis.
Others have been identified.
Two major incidents are due to “energy losses” on the Enedis network.
A drop in voltage of a few seconds was enough to paralyze the entire network for hours, because the system which is supposed to be triggered in this case did not take over, it is explained.
Since then, the operator has been changing its electrical equipment to prevent the problem from recurring frequently.
Alstom agents have also been deployed to the stations in order to intervene urgently, in the event of a problem.
A situation quickly restored?
Finally, Friday morning's incident is linked to work to extend line B to the hospitals in the south of the conurbation.
The teams, who work at night on the site, “did not completely respect the procedure” for restarting the metro.
As a result, when the stations opened, the trains remained in the harbor for nearly three hours.
"The extension of line B must be completed in 2023. I hope the breakdowns will not last until then", worries Elisa.
Will the situation be quickly restored?
No one can predict it.
Other incidents could "probably" occur again on the network, concedes Keolis.
“We are not immune to it.
The teams are fully mobilized to make the line reliable as quickly as possible”, he continues, “aware of the anger and annoyance of the passengers”.
On the other hand, it is not expected that monthly subscriptions will be reimbursed since alternative solutions are proposed and deployed with each breakdown.
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