The SNCF will ensure the circulation of five direct TGV round trips between Paris and Bordeaux, i.e. around 15% of the planned offer, “for customers who absolutely need to travel that day” by train.
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A signalmen’s strike in New Aquitaine will seriously disrupt rail traffic in the South-West of France on Monday January 24, with in particular the cancellation of 85% of TGVs between Paris and Bordeaux and regional traffic “very disturbed”, SNCF announced on Friday 21 January.
The strike is scheduled from 7 p.m. Sunday to 8 a.m. Tuesday, but traffic is expected to be “almost normal” Sunday night. SNCF Réseau, on the other hand, announces “strong disturbances” Monday on the lines between Bordeaux and Hendaye, Tarbes, Agen, Arcachon, Périgueux, Angoulême, Nantes, as well as on the Hendaye-Tarbes, Poitiers-La Rochelle and Poitiers-Angoulême lines. Connections between TER and main lines will not be guaranteed.
SNCF will operate five direct TGV round trips between Paris and Bordeaux, i.e. approximately 15% of the planned offer, “for customers who absolutely need to travel that day” by train. “All travelers who can are invited to postpone their trip to another date”, underlined a spokesperson for SNCF Voyageurs.
With regard to Intercités, the service will also be “very disturbed” with only two round trips between Toulouse and Marseille on the Bordeaux-Marseille line, two Toulouse-Bayonne round trips and no Nantes-Bordeaux train. The Paris-Orléans-Limoges-Toulouse train and the Paris-Rodez/Toulouse and Paris-Latour de Carol/Lourdes night trains will run normally, the spokesperson said. The TGV Inoui, Ouigo and Intercités customers concerned will be notified and will be able to exchange their ticket or get a refund, he added.
The call for a strike was launched by the CGT-Cheminots and the Unsa railway to demand better management of career endings and measures to ensure staff loyalty, said Unsa. The signalmen, who are employees of the SNCF Réseau company, are also demanding an increase in their work bonus, while the employees of the SNCF Voyageurs company benefited from a bonus of 600 euros at the end of last year.