The closure for the first time on a working day of the RER B north of Paris, in the direction of Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport in particular, announces a complicated Monday, some users fearing a day of “galley”.
Traffic has been completely interrupted on the northern axis of the second busiest line in Europe, since Saturday and until Monday evening in both directions of traffic, between Paris-Gare du Nord and Aulnay-sous-Bois, in direction of the airport, and on the second axis, between Aulnay and Mitry-Claye.
To overcome this interruption, an unprecedented system has been deployed with more than 600 replacement buses and 1,000 drivers mobilized on the closed sections.
The SNCF, the prefecture of Paris and Ile-de-France and Ile-de-France Mobilités have called for several days on the users concerned to postpone their trips. And carpooling is free.
Monday working remotely
The weekend passed without major disruptions despite some delays in the rotation of buses and stressful moments for some travellers. The buses were 80% occupied between the Stade de France and CDG airport while those serving the stations of Seine-Saint-Denis were only 50%, according to the SNCF.
“The device has been well established”, assured a spokesperson for the railway company to AFP, saying he was “reasonably confident for Monday”. However, “it is absolutely necessary that all those who can postpone their journey” Monday, the day of resumption of work, he warned.
Substitution buses are able to transport “about 100,000 people” while on a Monday like August 14, some 200,000 travelers are likely to take the interrupted section of the RER, warned Saturday morning on France Info the prefect of Marc Guillaume region.
The concern mainly concerns “front-line” professions who cannot ask RTT or telecommute, such as health professionals.
Travel times are also greatly increased. Thus, to get to Roissy airport from the Gare du Nord, it took almost an hour on Sunday, compared to 31 minutes in normal times, according to the Transilien website. Line K of the Transilien and the TER between Paris and Laon are also interrupted between Paris and Mitry-Claye during these three days. Transport Minister Clément Beaune and SNCF CEO Jean-Pierre Farandou have planned to go to Gare du Nord on Monday morning to assess the situation.
Modernization
On Sunday, users adapted. “It’s a hassle,” complained Badia who lives in Le Havre (Seine-Maritime). Anne Peitavi left Corsica, had to take a flight for Australia, where she resides. “We couldn’t afford to miss the Paris-Charles de Gaulle flight to Sydney (…) Fortunately, I had planned wide but, otherwise, we would surely have missed our international connection”.
Carried out in the middle of summer, when the line is less busy, this work aims to modernize the tracks of the RER B and provide it with a new terminus near the Stade de France, usable in the event of a cut on the line. . The construction site is financed from the budget of CDG Express, a fast link which should quickly connect the capital to Roissy airport from 2026.
The RATP and Ile de France Mobilités are increasing the work in this last summer before the Paris Olympic Games. The RER lines A, C, D, E are experiencing partial closures until the end of August, as are several metro lines.