After the breakdown on the Paris-Clermont, Christophe Béchu announces to summon the CEO of the SNCF

A train carrying 700 passengers, which left Paris at 6:57 p.m. on January 19, did not arrive in Clermont-Ferrand until 6 a.m. the next day, more than seven hours late.

“This situation can not continue.” The Minister of Ecological Transition, Christophe Béchu, announced on Tuesday January 23 to AFP that he had summoned the CEO of the SNCF, Jean-Pierre Farandou, after the breakdown of a locomotive on the Paris-Clermont. Friday January 19, a train that left Paris at 6:57 p.m. did not arrive in Clermont-Ferrand (Puy-de-Dôme) until 6 a.m. the next day, more than seven hours late. Which stranded 700 travelers overnight on a train in the extreme cold.

“What SNCF users experienced on Friday on the Paris-Clermont line is not only unbearable, but adds to the various incidents that are all too frequent on this line”, insisted the minister, whose scope also includes transport. The train, whose locomotive broke down, had to be repaired to Montargis station (Loiret) where meal trays were distributed, before continuing its route to its final destination later that night. Passengers shared on social networks their dismay in a train without heat, electricity or water.

“A plan of concrete and immediate measures”

Jean-Pierre Farandou “will have to propose to me on Friday a plan of concrete and immediate measures” for this line regularly affected by incidents, specified Christophe Béchu, who will share the content of this plan “within two weeks with elected officials and stakeholders in the field”. According to the newspaper The mountainEmmanuel Macron himself asked “immediate explanations” and that “sanctions be taken”.

The Intercités Paris-Clermont line is known for its repeated delays, regularly denounced by its users. A program to modernize the line has been launched with, in particular, the arrival of new trains, called “Oxygène”, whose delivery is planned for 2026. The State has also initiated work on the line to the tune of one billion euros, a first tranche of which was released by the former Minister for Transport, Clément Beaune, in November.