The joy was short-lived. After a brief recovery in December following a giant breakdown and a fire, line B of the Rennes metro is stopped again. And let’s be frank, this may last a while, even a long time. This Tuesday, Rennes Métropole, Keolis and Siemens Mobility announced that traffic on the second metro line would be suspended for several months. A time “of the order of the quarter”, specified the president of the metropolis.
Nathalie Appéré indicated that it was the breakage of a small part located on the bogie guiding the train which was the cause of the two successive breakdowns. “Expertise is underway to understand why and how,” added the mayor, who said she was “aware” of the impact for users. “It’s a hard blow for the residents. »
Second breakdown in a few weeks
This second breakdown occurred on January 3 after another emergency braking operation by one of the automatic trains. Described as a “major incident” by those responsible for the Star network, this shutdown is the second in a few weeks. Inaugurated in September 2022, line B had nevertheless had a calm first year, even exceeding its forecasts by boarding up to 110,000 passengers per day before the big setback suffered at the end of the year.
On November 18, a fire broke out in an electrical room in the workshop garage, causing more than a month of service interruption. A big hassle for thousands of residents of the Rennes metropolis, causing major traffic jams.
According to Keolis and the metropolis, the fire could have been caused by a short circuit caused by the emergency braking of a potentially faulty train. The train in question had been removed from the carousel, which did not prevent a new hiccup.
How to get around without line B?
To cope with this new service shutdown, Keolis boosted its bus networkrelaunching its “relay” line which operates on the same route as line B. To increase the rate on the major fallback lines like the C1, the C4 or the C5, the operator had to sacrifice the less used lines like the 10 and 12, which are partially running, and removed lines 32, 34 as well as the city center shuttle.