Endless queues at Place de la Bourse and Porte de Bourgogne, 1h30 before the start of the match. Crowded trains in suffocating heat. And seats still empty in the Matmut stadium when the match kicked off… Irish supporters had a hard time on Saturday getting to the stadium to watch the Ireland-Romania Rugby World Cup match. Many have denounced a failing transport system on social networks.
On Sunday, Keolis Bordeaux and TBM were keen to provide explanations for these so-called failures. “Two technical incidents occurred in the afternoon of Saturday, September 9, leading to disorganization of line C and regularity difficulties at the beginning of the afternoon,” they explain in a press release.
Emergency stop activated by passengers
First incident at 2:15 p.m., when a train broke down on tram line C towards the Pyrenees. “A team of technicians positioned in Quinconces immediately went to the site with the “road-rail” recovery vehicle in order to unblock the train. At 2:30 p.m. the train was put back into service. To overcome this difficulty, travelers were invited to take Tram line B at Place des Quinconces to [se diriger vers] bus shuttles to the stadium. »
At 2:45 p.m. another incident occurred on tram line C, “when travelers activated the emergency stop of a train at the 40 newspaper station, thus blocking the next two trains. By the time our teams intervened to secure the area, all the passengers on the trains concerned got off to reach the stadium on foot. At 2:52 p.m. the blocked trains were put back into service. »
“Feeling of discomfort”
TBM recalls that “service to the Matmut Stadium is ensured within the framework of the World Cup matches by the strengthening of Tramway line C and the establishment of a shuttle bus from the Right Bank (Cenon Gare – Cité du Wine – Matmut Stadium). » The service is “gradually brought to a frequency of 3 minutes from 1 p.m. for the tram, and 2:30 for the tram shuttle. »
Furthermore, on Saturday TBM provided “the transport of more than 20,000 travelers, or 50% of the stadium spectators, which corresponds to the assigned objective. Considering the crowds of this type of event, it is normal to note that the trains were full. » Finally, “the scorching temperature complicated the traveler experience. » Keolis specifies that “our air conditioning systems are maintained, checked and taken back whenever drivers report them. The air conditioning operates automatically with a temperature setting of 7 degrees lower than the outside temperature. However, the heatwave periods of recent days combined with trains carrying more than 300 passengers can cause a feeling of discomfort. »