Rochelais travelers, you may have it is increasingly difficult to book your trains at La Rochelle station, and this is quite normal: there are fewer trains than before the pandemic. And still no significant increase with the announcement of winter schedules, which appeared this month. A situation that strongly annoys the mayor of La Rochelle Jean-François Fountaine, who wrote to the SNCF on Monday, December 20, to ask for more trains and the reinstatement of the suppressed schedules.
“We have 2 million passengers, but we are still a significant station”, recalls Jean-François Fountaine to France Bleu. “I understand that during the pandemic, people took the train less. But today, the demand is increasing!” So it is time, for the mayor, to restore traffic as before. “The offer is not satisfactory today.”
“The SNCF does not respect its commitment”
He particularly quotes trains from or to Paris. Several round trips are canceled during the week, in particular “from Tuesday to Thursday”. Another problem for the mayor: “the extension of certain journeys”, citing in particular two TGV to Paris, which are now a stop in Poitiers. “We were promised 2:25! Of course that is not possible for all trains, but we need at least two a day to be able to make the return trip during the day.”
“We have been a loyal and loyal partner of SNCF at all stages”protested Jean-François Fountaine. Financial support from the agglomeration of La Rochelle “represents nearly 17 million euros over twenty years”, he recalls, quoting modernization of lines La Rochelle-Niort and La Rochelle-La Roche-sur-Yon. “For me, the SNCF is not respecting its commitment.”