one in two TGVs is running this Friday, the same traffic expected on Sunday

Patrice Vergriete, the Minister Delegate for Transport, expressed his regrets over the controllers’ strike.

“It is a category of agents who are on strike today, who have benefited from an increase in their remuneration of between 17% and 20% since two years. So I think there was no reason to reach this extreme of a strike on the first holiday weekend,” declared the minister.

>>>To read: did railway workers really benefit from significant salary increases?

“I hope that from Monday, everyone will regain a sense of responsibility, return to the negotiating table and be able to do so in the most open, serious and respectful social dialogue possible” , added Patrice Vergriete.

The minister assures that he has confidence in the unions and the management of the SNCF. “I think that from Monday we will have a balanced social dialogue.”

Patrice Vergriete, the Minister Delegate in charge of Transport, believes that the choice of trains to be favored within the framework of the strike was made in a fair manner by the SNCF, while mayors, particularly from the west of France, were moved that the east of the country and the Alps were better considered.

“There were very, very clear criteria which I find particularly legitimate. Obviously each mayor thinks of his city, of his commune and that is legitimate, but the SNCF must take into account territorial equity. They chose the trains which were more full, the trains which were more concerned with children”, declared Patrice Vergriete near Montparnasse station, in Paris.

“What’s important is to look nationally. Has it been fair, I think so, it has been fair”, insisted the minister.

Faced with the numerous full or canceled trains which appear on the SNCF Connect application, many opt for the bus or the car.

Traffic was normal on French roads Friday morning, according to Bison Futé, but the road information service foresees difficulties linked to departures and returns from vacation in the afternoon on the A6 and Saturday in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, on the roads linking the ski resorts.

Disturbances linked to the strike could also “reinforce the traffic difficulties expected this weekend on the entire road network”, warned Bison Futé.

The Blablacar platform observed a “doubling of the demand for reservations for carpooling and buses since the announcement of the SNCF transport plan on Wednesday.

Connections to the southwest (Bordeaux, Biarritz, etc.) are particularly affected by the controllers’ strike. And we count much less than the 1 in 2 TGVs announced by the SNCF.

On LinkedInFranck Dubourdieu, director of the TGV Atlantique route, says he is “disappointed, incredulous and proud”.

“We don’t ask a senior executive to display his feelings in public but this weighs on me a little too much. So I would like to start by telling the ship’s leaders that: YES you are idlers and recognized as such. YES your job is demanding and you do it very well, travelers testify to this. YES the promises of December 2022 have been kept and moreover the exchanges with you confirm this to me daily”

Missed appointment

“To travelers, say that: YES, missed appointments like the one this weekend are not normal and that we are sorry. YES we are thinking of you because of long weekends for us it’s so many Champions League finals that we carefully prepare months in advance. YES we will be able to repair this problem with a full refund of your tickets and 50% on your next trip “, he continues.

“So this morning, I am disappointed by this missed meeting, incredulous because I do not see what this extremism brings to the debates insofar as the announcements of the “The next steps were clearly on the table and we are proud of the railway workers who will do everything this weekend to best ensure our mission.”

Like many cities in the West of France, Poitiers is very affected by the strike by SNCF controllers.

In front of the deserted station, the taxis look grim. “We have a 50% drop” in customers, assures Laurent Bouffard, taxi driver speaking to BFMTV.

“I only did one race whereas usually, we do at least 4 in the morning. It will be a bad day, we are suffering,” he continues.

On the west facade, train cancellations are numerous, much more than the average of 1 in 2 TGVs announced by the SNCF.

Enough to cause numerous cancellations in hotels.

In La Rochelle, this hotelier is seeing around sixty cancellations for this weekend. “The impact is very strong on leisure customers”, explains for BFMTV, Cédrick Poucineau, director of operations of the Cozy Hôtels Group.

“Beyond the cancellations, we have a drop in the volume of reservations of around 15% compared to last year, over the weekend, we will lose 25% of activity “, he continues.

If the railway company promises an average of 1 in 2 TGVs in circulation this weekend, certain destinations such as Bordeaux or La Rochelle will be much less served.

Example on the axis towards Bordeaux: of the 24 TGVs which usually run, 16 are canceled this Saturday, noted BFMTV, or two-thirds.

>>>Read our article

+15, +20%: many passengers who saw their train canceled or could not reserve trains turned to bus companies.

Demand has increased since Wednesday. At the Bercy bus station this morning in Paris, there were many passengers, as our report shows.

While three out of four controllers are on strike this weekend, Alain Krakovitch did not give an estimate on the financial cost of the compensatory measures put in place by the SNCF for injured travelers. ©s. “We don’t yet know how much it will cost us,” he admitted on the set of TF1. A very consistent strike is 20 million per day but we know that there, it will be a little less because we have every other train.”

Guest of the TF1 morning show on this first day of the controllers’ strike for the weekend, Alain Krakovitch confirmed that the transport plan was finalized. “We will actually have one train in two on Sunday and our customers will receive an email, an SMS to tell them whether their train is confirmed or canceled,” indicated the director of TGV-Intercités.

In the stations for this first morning of the strike, the situation is sometimes difficult for passengers. “It will take me almost 10 hours to return to Toulouse,” explains this traveler.

“We left Namur this morning at 5:30 a.m. and we will arrive at Lorient station at 6:48 p.m., so we are a little tired,” confides this other passenger.

Three people are essential for train circulation: the driver, the switchman and the controller. Without these three agents, no departure possible.

10,000 crew chiefs work at SNCF on different brands: TGV Inoui, Ouigo, Intercités and TER. 70% are on strike this weekend.

All the explanations in our article.

If those who go to the station this Friday normally have a guaranteed place on a train, many passengers have had to revise their plans to leave this weekend.

“I have to go back to Paris, I have a very important meeting on Monday. But that’s not possible,” a passenger worried this Thursday.

Their testimonies in our paper.

The SNCF plans to run 1 out of 2 TGVs, 1 out of 2 Ouigos and 1 out of 2 Intercités (day and night) this weekend. Trains to the Alps for ski holidays will be provided.

Travelers were warned by email and text message from Wednesday of the disruptions.

All forecasts in our article.

Hello and welcome to this live dedicated to the first day of this weekend of strike at the SNCF.

A majority of controllers have stopped work since Thursday evening, and the movement will continue until Monday. This movement takes place in the middle of school holidays: Zone C (Paris and Occitanie) are starting their 2nd week of vacation and Zone A (Besançon, Bordeaux, Clermont-Ferrand, Dijon, Grenoble, Limoges, Lyon, Potiers) already The holidays begin this Friday evening.