On the eve of last year’s Christmas holidays, SNCF canceled about two out of every five TGVs, leaving many travelers unable to visit their families. This disappointment, coupled with a loss of time and money, understandably angered the passengers.
THE CLEAR DETERIORATION OF SERVICE
Since the beginning of the year, travelers have been dealing with train cancellations and suspensions at stations, without any explanation or alternative solution. This doesn’t even take into account the gradual elimination of smaller lines.
The elimination of “small lines.”
Last summer, internet users published a map of the future French railway network, stripped of its “small lines.”
Some even put forward a “future railway project” map, showing a “before/after” comparison with the current network plan and its future state ten years later. However, this map does not come from SNCF Réseau but from a Twitter discussion thread published on July 3.
The author of this thread is a train conductor and Twitter user, whose real name is Wilfried Demaret, well-known among railway enthusiasts for his useful and coherent content.
In his thread, he warns about the consequences of the performance contract signed between the state and SNCF Réseau on April 6. This document charts the course for SNCF Réseau until 2030, including an annual investment of 2.8 billion euros for network regeneration but “nothing for its modernization,” laments the informed user.
Furthermore, he considers this investment to be largely insufficient. He rightly points out the lack of maintenance, which could lead to a gradual deterioration of lines until their complete closure. He adds that low-traffic lines will be the first targets of this lack of resources.
Wilfried Demaret thus removed from the map all lines that will disappear in ten years to create the map circulating on the Internet.
While this map is not official, everything suggests that the conductor’s projections will come true by 2030 and that the “small lines” are under threat.
Since then, this performance contract has been widely questioned. Indeed, the Senate has lamented the inadequate ambitions and resources of this contract, which “ratifies the aging of the network for key regional lines.”
Bernard Romana, president of the Transport Regulatory Authority (ART), also warned of the risks of network degradation.
The CEO of SNCF Réseau, Luc Lallemand, himself supported this position in front of the Senate’s territorial planning and sustainable development commission on February 16, 2022.
The Endangered SNCF Transilien Network
Valérie Pécresse, president of the region and Ile-de-France Mobilités (IDFM), had a hearing on January 13 with the CEOs of the main public transport operators in the Paris region, such as RATP, SNCF, Transdev, and Keolis. The association “Plus de trains” revealed the problems faced by RER C users as well as those on lines J, L, U, and N.
“We do not comment on the RATP situation as it is already under multiple follow-ups. However, we find it necessary to share with you the situation of several lines of the SNCF Transilien network, on which we have observed a marked deterioration in recent months,” the association begins by noting.
It particularly cites the RER C, which “faces difficulties” due to “a reduced service” between Versailles Château and Juvisy.
The association recalled that “an electrical failure in the Saint-Ouen area,” which remains unresolved, was the cause of many train cancellations.
“That SNCF Réseau cannot fix an electrical failure is particularly worrying and raises questions about the management of absolutely critical infrastructures,” deplores the association.
Furthermore, the Ermont branch of line J suffers from increasingly frequent train cancellations, with “about 25% of trains canceled during peak hours and 40% during off-peak hours until 9 PM.”
The same is true on the Mantes via Poissy branch of line J, on the south line L, and on lines U and N: “about 20% of the normal service is canceled, both during peak and off-peak hours,” states the association “Plus de trains,” which accuses SNCF of communicating “tersely” about “modified services” when they are in fact train cancellations.
USERS HELD HOSTAGE
It’s obvious that users are the most affected by this unreliability of the railway network.
And when trains are not canceled, they are often delayed…
The ultimate frustration being the lack of compensation for the aggrieved consumers.
The lack of train punctuality
In 2021, 12 to 14% of trains arrived late, placing France at the lower end of the European average. A delayed train arrives at the station on average between 37 and 41 minutes after its scheduled arrival time.
“SNCF could do better.” That’s the conclusion of an expert committee commissioned by the railway company to study train delays. It notes “dysfunctions” in the organization, though it stops short of calling it a “crisis situation.”
The report mentions a lack of discipline, insufficient training, and an overestimation of the number of trains that the network can actually support. According to these experts, whether independent or from SNCF, the railway network organization is too compartmentalized; for example, on the Paris-Orléans-Limoges line, operations are managed by different regions, each focused on keeping schedules within their section but not along the entire train route, leading to cumulative delays.
The absence of compensation
Arnaud Bertrand, president of the “Plus de trains” association, argues against the injustice of anticipated cancellations. By announcing them in advance, SNCF is not obliged to include them in their punctuality statistics.
He attributes this “manipulation” to the contract linking SNCF to Ile-de-France Mobilités, which prohibits users from receiving compensation.
“Without this manipulation, the Ermont branch and probably the South L line would be eligible for reimbursements because their punctuality compared to the normal service demanded by IDFM is below 80%, even when weighted by the number of passengers per trip,” notes Arnaud Bertrand.
In a letter sent to Ile-de-France Mobilités administrators, he demands that “SNCF Transilien and SNCF Réseau leaders be questioned about this deterioration, its causes, remediation plans, and dated commitments for a return to normal.”
The increase in the Navigo pass price supports this appeal: “We have never balked at reasonable fare increases because we want quality public transport. But a 12% increase when transport services have never been so degraded, and when the personnel shortage now affects trains, is incomprehensible,” he lamented already at the beginning of the year.
And things are not about to improve with the “price shield” measures implemented by SNCF to deal with inflation and rising energy prices.
Indeed, SNCF has tightened its exchange and cancellation conditions since February 7, and the penalties for changing a ticket will significantly increase.
The company is showing more rigidity: TGV InOui and Intercités tickets are now only exchangeable and cancellable without charge up to six days before departure (compared to three days before February 7). Moreover, the penalty has increased from €15 to €19.
Not enough to soften, for the moment, the French attitude towards their railway industry.
