Close the tap. The Hauts-de-France regional council announced on Wednesday that the payment to SNCF of the fee for the TER service was suspended “with immediate effect”. The rail carrier’s promises to restore normal operation of the network before the end of November have not been kept, depending on the region.
Through Franck Dhersin, vice-president of Hauts-de-France in charge of Transport, the region put a lot of pressure on the SNCF a month ago. The elected had pointed to a list of grievances as long as a day without bread against the SNCF, summed up soberly in “many dysfunctions”.
Worst TER network in France in terms of train cancellations
In particular, the train cancellation rates and the delays which have jumped since the beginning of 2021. And to drive the point home, the report of the Authority for the quality of service in transport (AQST) is fell in the wake, qualifying the TER network of Hauts-de-France as the worst in France in terms of delays and cancellations.
With this sword of Damocles over its head, the SNCF had taken out of its hat an “emergency recovery plan” supposed to restore normal service before December. “Today, it is clear that all the dysfunctions remain,” deplores Franck Dhersin. A finding that is also widely shared by users and travel associations on social networks.
Immediate suspension and until further notice
“Another anthology of canceled trains and short trains for last minute causes, in addition to strikes …” regretted, this Wednesday morning, the Union of Northern Travelers. “The consequence of all this is that more and more of us are taking the car…. There is no reliability in the public transport system, ”says Guillaume on Twitter.
“The Hauts-de-France region has taken the decision to suspend the payments owed to the SNCF operator, with immediate effect”, declared the VP of transport. This time, therefore, by ultimatum, and Franck Dhersin does not intend to reopen the floodgates until “quality of service” is restored. Contacted by 20 minutes, the SNCF has not yet followed up.