A switchmen’s strike in New Aquitaine has been seriously disrupting rail traffic in the South-West since Monday morning with an 85% cancellation of TGVs between Paris and Bordeaux and slowing TER traffic, in line with forecasts, indicates SNCF.
“Traffic is in line with forecasts, the transport plan is kept,” said a spokesperson for SNCF in New Aquitaine. According to its forecasts communicated on Friday, the SNCF ensures the circulation of five direct TGV round trips between Paris and Bordeaux, or approximately 15% of the planned offer. The SNCF on Friday urged “all travelers who can (…) to postpone their trip to another date”. No TGV runs on Monday south of Bordeaux, towards Hendaye and Toulouse.
The strike call was launched by the CGT-Cheminots and the Unsa railway to demand better management of career endings and measures to ensure staff loyalty, according to Unsa. The signalmen, who are employees of the SNCF Réseau company, are also demanding an increase in their work bonus, especially since the employees of the SNCF Voyageurs company benefited from a bonus of 600 euros at the end of the year. .
A strike scheduled until Tuesday 8 a.m.
With regard to Intercités, the service is also “very disrupted” with only two round trips planned between Toulouse and Marseille on the Bordeaux-Marseille line, two Toulouse-Bayonne round trips and no Nantes-Bordeaux train, detailed the press release on Friday. of the SNCF.
The Paris-Orléans-Limoges-Toulouse train and the Paris-Rodez/Toulouse and Paris-Latour night trains from Carol/Lourdes are running normally. TGV Inoui, Ouigo and Intercités customers will be able to exchange their ticket or get a refund.
For the TER in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, the transport plan provides for 30% of the usual traffic to be ensured. But ten lines, out of the thirty in the region, are not served (Poitiers/Angoulême, Angoulême/Bordeaux, Angoulême/Saintes/Royan, Poitiers/La Rochelle, La Rochelle/Saintes, Bordeaux/Arcachon, Bordeaux/Agen, Niort /Saintes, Bordeaux/Morcenx/Dax and Agen/Périgueux). Connections between TER and main lines are not guaranteed. The switchmen’s strike, which began Sunday evening, is scheduled to continue until 8 a.m. Tuesday.