Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credit: IAN LANGSDON / AFP 4:53 p.m., February 18, 2024
After the cancellation of one in two TGVs for this winter holiday crossover weekend, the SNCF controllers' strike must end this Sunday evening. The Sud-Rail union, however, leaves the threat of a resumption in a few days, particularly next weekend.
The SNCF controllers' strike must end on Sunday after leading to the cancellation of one in two TGVs during the winter holiday weekend, but Sud-Rail is looming the threat of a resumption in a few days. “Next weekend, we will be on strike if management does not come to us,” Vincent Pinot, federal secretary of the Sud-Rail union, declared on BFMTV on Sunday. "Since the filing of the strike notice on January 31", we have had "no contact with management", lamented the trade unionist, demanding a plan for "better working conditions and a travel allowance of 300 euros" .
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The SNCF estimated that 150,000 travelers, out of the million who were supposed to travel, were unable to take their train during the three days of strike. Train traffic is “severely disrupted” due to a strike by controllers from Thursday at 8:00 p.m. until Monday at 8:00 a.m., the railway company warned. “On Monday traffic is expected to be normal on all axes” and the entire TGV, Intercités and TER network, said an SNCF spokesperson on Sunday.
The movement was very popular with three out of four controllers on strike over salary increases. “I find it difficult to do it during the school holidays when many people have worked a lot to be able to afford these holidays” and ultimately cannot leave, Joanne Ayache, coach, told AFP when interviewed in Paris in front of the station. from Lyon on Sunday. “It seems to me that we need to work on a minimum service,” said Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau on France Inter on Sunday, while recalling that “there is no question of calling into question” the strike, a constitutional right.
+8% for Trenitalia
This weekend saw the first returns from zone C (Paris, Montpellier and Toulouse) but also departures from zone A (Lyon, Bordeaux, Dijon...), and the SNCF promoted connections to the ski resorts of Alps where trains were full in both directions. The customers concerned have all been notified by email or SMS, assures the SNCF, and can be reimbursed if their train has been canceled.
Some travelers on the Paris-Lyon line fell back on the trains of the railway company Trenitalia which were 8% more full than last year. “The peak exists this year but it is difficult to say what part is natural demand and what is the impact of strike announcements,” underlined a spokesperson for the new competitor SNCF. “We deplore the strikes in the rail sector. They keep travelers away from the train, the most ecological mode of transport, especially during periods when they need it most,” continued the Trenitalia spokesperson.
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The Blablacar platform has observed a “doubling of the demand for reservations” for carpooling and coaches since the announcement of the SNCF transport plan on Wednesday. On the roads, motorists found themselves stuck in traffic jams on Saturday in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes as they approached ski resorts, but also in the Paris region. Bison Futé had, however, planned for usual traffic in both directions on Sunday.
Certain train lines were more affected by the strike, such as Paris-Bordeaux where two thirds of trains were canceled on Saturday. More trains than expected were finally able to run on Sunday, on the Atlantic axis which covers the West and the South-West, the company confirmed, as announced to AFP by the boss of the TGV Atlantique Franck Dubourdieu. If some customers change their ticket to travel on Monday, “we will be able to transport everyone,” he assured Friday.