It all started with a delay, at Paris Bercy station. The TER connecting the capital to the Lyon Part Dieu station is displayed at 3:33 p.m. He will finally be more than 20 minutes late, result: the train is stormed and crowded in just a few minutes. Several dozen travelers are forced to stay at the quay and wait for the next train.
Except that the situation is not getting better. The second TER is just as crowded, forcing some passengers to sit on the ground, or to stand. To top it off, the train will stop in Auxerre and will not go as far as Lyon. “When I arrived at Bercy, my train was not leaving so I decided to take the train that was going to Laroche-Migennes, hoping to catch a train there for Dijon. But there, we were told 2h30 late… The SNCF staff tried to reassure us by telling us that at best, we would sleep in Dijon. I was supposed to go to a concert tonight, in Dole… It’s still crazy these delays, we know that the trains will be crowded on weekends like All Saints’ Day” says Edith, met at Laroche-Migennes station.
“We had to take the 3:33 p.m. at Paris Bercy and be back in Dijon for 6:30 p.m. As a result, we chose to take the next train to stop at Laroche Migennes. Next train 6:59 p.m. but we already know that it is 2 hours late The big unknown now is whether this train will be crowded or not.”, says a traveler. The SNCF agents themselves encourage travelers to make complaints with the Region. “We escalate every incident but nothing ever changes.”
But then, whose fault is it? “Not at the SNCF” explains an on-site controller, “the company is now a service provider for the region.” Other SNCF agents present at Paris Bercy and Laroche-Migennes stations are not surprised of the phenomenon. “It’s like that every school holiday and every long weekend departure,” they blow.
And in the other direction, from Lyon to Paris, there were also complications…