Romain Bitot, edited by Alexandre Dalifard 6:17 p.m., December 24, 2022
This Saturday, in order to allow the children to arrive in time for Christmas despite the controllers' strike, the SNCF has set up a train to welcome them, indicated Alain Krakovitch, director of the company.
This "special" TGV will travel from north to south and will take care of at least 450 children aged 4 to 14 years.
Save the children's Christmas.
While the weekend is disrupted by a major strike by controllers, only 2 out of 5 trains are in circulation, the SNCF has announced the establishment of a "special" TGV which will allow children aged 4 to 14 to join their family for Christmas.
This train will cross France from north to south and will take care of at least 450 children.
At the Gare de Lyon this Saturday morning, the parents were relieved.
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"It is a relief"
On the platform, 25 children board the train, accompanied by their parents.
Among them, Julie, 36 years old.
She came to drop off her two daughters who are going to Béziers.
Without this special train, she would have had to break the piggy bank.
“After booking plane tickets at 500 euros, we were able to cancel them free of charge and send our children away today to have Christmas with their dad. And we had Christmas last night with them. It's a relief," she said.
For some, the solutions proposed by the SNCF are more a meager consolation than a relief.
Jacques is aware of this, he accompanies his son who is also leaving for Béziers.
"It annoyed me a little bit. The fact that we are completely deprived of the children's journey and then granted it to us as if it were generous. While it is basically something quite unpleasant during the holidays, to be deprived of something really essential. You could not deprive a child of his mother for Christmas", he laments.
The train doors close and the parents all wave goodbye to their children.