"For several months, the Hauts-de-France Region has deplored the many dysfunctions encountered daily by TER network users (delays and cancellations of recurring trains for unavailability of equipment or staff)", accuses the Regional Council, chaired by the LR Xavier Bertrand, among the LR contenders for the presidential race.
"Despite the actions announced by SNCF, the situation has not been rectified," deplores the Council in a press release.
Faced with this situation, "the Hauts-de-France region takes the decision to suspend the payments due to the SNCF operator, with immediate effect, pending a recovery in the quality of service," the statement continued.
At the end of October, the region threatened to take this step if progress was not made by mid-November.
"The degradation of service on the entire TER network is such that the ceiling for penalties for train cancellations - 1.8 million euros per year - has been reached since June 8, 2021", she underlined then.
In the process, SNCF Voyageurs had announced to initiate "an immediate plan of reinforcement of human and material resources, with in particular" the assignment of 40 rolling staff, drivers and controllers "and the reinforcement of" voluntary staff "in the maintenance professions. , driving and controlling trains.
The company also anticipated the rapid arrival of two additional locomotives.
Asked Wednesday morning, the SCNF did not wish to react to the region's decision immediately.
In its report in mid-2021, made public at the end of October, the Authority for quality of service in transport noted "strong geographical disparities" in terms of delays in French TERs, the best performance being achieved by the Brittany region with 3, 2% and the worst achieved by Hauts-de-France, with 9.1%.
© 2021 AFP