Certain TER but also TGV lines, particularly in the West, remain interrupted this Friday due to the damage caused by storm Ciaran, SNCF indicated Thursday, recalling that 4,000 agents, including 250 loggers, are mobilized.
The disruptions mainly concern Brittany, Normandy and “very certainly” Hauts-de-France, Minister Delegate for Transport Clément Beaune assured Thursday during a visit to the National Rail Operations Center.
In these three regions, the most affected, “the resumption of traffic will take place between Friday morning and Saturday morning depending on the sector”, indicated the SNCF in a press release.
The TGVs are interrupted on Friday between Saint-Brieuc and Brest, Lorient and Quimper, Nantes and Les Sables-d’Olonne, Arras and beyond Lille. In the South-West, “the first trains departing from Hendaye and Tarbes” have been canceled.
In Hauts-de-France, “visibility on the complete recovery remains conditional on the end of the storm”, specified the SNCF. In all these regions, certain TER lines will not run this Friday.
In Ile-de-France, the SNCF, on the other hand, assured that traffic would “be able to gradually resume” between Thursday evening and Friday morning.
Tickets refunded in the event of train cancellation
Clément Beaune recalled that 150 reconnaissance trains were mobilized to survey the network and assess the damage. The SNCF even deployed a helicopter between Saint-Brieuc and Brest to assess the damage on the network.
“The first indications show that there does not seem to be any major damage,” underlined Clément Beaune. The SNCF has currently noted falling trees or branches on the tracks as well as some broken catenaries. Observations are still underway in Brittany and Normandy, however, the minister clarified.
In total, SNCF counted 123 incidents on its network linked to the storm at the start of the afternoon. In Brittany alone, the most affected region, there were 43.
Clément Beaune also warned of the risk of disruptions on Friday on the roads and rail network in the South-West. All people whose train was canceled will have their ticket refunded in full, he guaranteed.