SNCF is preparing to halve the number of TER trains during rush hour on the Lyon-Grenoble line. And that for the next 15 days, at least. The reason: “problems of availability of material”, she explains to 20 minutes specifying that other regional lines such as Chambéry-Grenoble or Mâcon-Lyon will also be affected by “reductions or even deletions” of trains.
The causes are threefold, starting with the effect of “seasonality”. The falling snow or trees, as well as the pile of dead leaves on the rails “caused a degradation of the axles of some wagons which requires immobilizing the trains”, specifies the SNCF. And send them to the maintenance centers. “Reprofiling axles is a day’s work in a workshop,” she continues.
Traffic jams in maintenance centers
Passage of game, collision at level crossings, accident of persons… The “volume of shocks” increased by 60% between 2019 and 2021 and again deteriorated a certain number of trains. Third problem: the maintenance centers, where equipment is repaired, currently lack personnel. “Many Covid cases have been detected by qualified staff,” says SNCF. These three factors combined mean that at the moment we have a lot more trainsets entering the repair shops than those leaving. “
The national company has indicated that it will reinforce the teams in its maintenance centers and send certain trainsets to other workshops in France to speed up the repair of its equipment.
“Inadmissible situation”
Unconvinced by his explanations, the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region has come out of its hinges, denouncing an “unacceptable overnight announcement”, which is “added to a long list of dysfunctions”. “This situation is unacceptable for the thousands of travelers and unworthy of the historic company of public transport in France”, she loses in a press release.
The Lyon-Grenoble link is represented by the twelve so-called “sick” lines that the SNCF had listed in 2011. Ten years later, his state of health has not visibly improved. The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region had moreover included it among the strategic lines subject to “payment of bonus or penalty” depending on the punctuality of the trains. In 2018, it also asked SNCF to increase the workforce of its maintenance centers in order to limit the unavailability of its trains, she assures. “The account is not there,” laments the community. He added: “It is not possible for travelers to be left at the dock every day”.
“Responsibilities are shared”
But the Sud-Rail union nevertheless believes that “responsibilities are shared”. And returns the SNCF and the region back to back. “For years, the workforce directly linked to production has been melting away, in favor of management positions. The multiple reorganizations of the company are one of the causes, but the financial pressure of the region is another explanation, he explains. The policy of the region, the transport organizing authority, is to lower costs whatever the consequences ”.
According to the union, there are currently 30 agents lacking to do maintenance on the Lyonnais sites (Vaise, Vénissieux and La Mouche) and 40 controllers to accompany the trains.