In accordance with the new contracts signed by IDFM with the RATP and the SNCF, train delays accumulated over a year can be reimbursed for travelers affected by punctuality of less than 80% for at least three months.

This was the case in 2021 on four axes, all on the RER B (a line operated to the south by the RATP and to the north by the SNCF): Aulnay-sous-Bois/Mitry-Claye for eight months, Aulnay-sous- Bois/Roissy for seven months, Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse/Parc de Sceaux for four months and Robinson/Bourg La Reine for three months, detailed IDFM in a press release.

Reimbursement is half a month for routes where punctuality was less than 80% between three and five months, and can go up to one month between six and nine months.

A dedicated platform will be launched on March 2 to allow the travelers concerned to file a request for reimbursement, said the regional authority.

"It's a contractual mechanism that we invented with user associations," its director general Laurent Probst told AFP.

"The RER B is the least efficient line today," he lamented, after an annual hearing with the CEOs of RATP, SNCF Voyageurs and SNCF Réseau.

Its overall punctuality rate is 86.9% for the whole of 2021.

Lines D and R are also considered "in difficulty", with punctuality rates of 88.1% and 88.2% respectively.

The ten other RER lines and suburban trains have "good" or even "excellent" results for RER A (95.1%).

On the metro side, lines 4, 7, 8 and 13 did not meet their objectives.

For lines 7 and 13 of the metro and lines R, B and D, IDFM underlined "the need to implement the planned measures to improve punctuality, short-term measures (improvement of operating processes, improvement of maintenance of rolling stock and finalization of renovation operations) as well as long-term measures (renewal of signaling, automation, investment in infrastructure, renewal of rolling stock)".

© 2022 AFP