Will there be 800 more trains per week from December 11 in the Bas-Rhin thanks to the implementation of REME, the Bas-Rhin RER
? No answer certain unions, with supporting figures, in a survey by France Bleu Alsace.
Solicited at the same time by France Bleu, the management of the SNCF did not want to speak, leaving the floor to the politicians. She now wishes to provide some details, and assures her, yes, the SNCF has the means to run 800 more trains per week as soon as the REME is launched.
Will there be enough conductors?
Unions and management have the same figures, only about thirty more drivers on December 11, when it takes 86 to operate the REM. This is normal explains Stéphanie Dommange, regional director of TER Grand Est. The metropolitan express network will ramp up by next August, not all drivers must be operational from December 11. “We will have enough drivers. For the REME, there are 86 additional jobs implemented in Alsace. 69 drivers are in training and will leave their school during 2023. We already have 18 who left before the month of November, we have 19 that will come out before December 11, and we have contributions from other regions, 16 drivers, and also six retirees, so we are giving ourselves the means to succeed in this great project.”
Is the number of oars sufficient?
In all nine new trains will be delivered by the Region underlines the management of the SNCF. Five by the end of the year, and four more by March 2023. Overall, “the trains will turn more, they will travel more kilometres”, adds Stéphanie Dommange, regional director of TER Grand Est.
Will the REME be at the expense of other lines?
“We have boosted the recruitment system. In 2022, we made 500 hires in Grand Est. Overall, we have 300 more employees in Grand Est in 2022 compared to 2021. We also take into account the needs of other territories”, recognizes Stéphanie Dommange. “No, the REME will not be at the expense of the quality of service of the other lines in the territory of the Grand Est.”
According to the management, everything is therefore ready for the REME to start as planned on December 11. With a grain of sand still possible: the railway strike. But here again the direction of the SNCF is confident. She explains that negotiations are underway on the quality of life at work.