The recent protests and strikes have highlighted various causes, from pension reforms to the liberalization of the railways.
Travelers using France's regional railways, especially the TER and RER, can expect some disruption on Friday, October 13. The French railway company SNCF announced on Thursday, October 12, that a strike will take place to demand higher wages and gender equality. The strike was called by a coalition of trade unions. However, the impact on high-speed trains, the TGVs, is considered normal. SNCF encourages passengers to obtain information about possible disruptions per region.
In the Ile-de-France region, the RER lines D and C will be particularly affected, with only two of the three trains running. This also applies to Transilien's H, L, U and R lines. For line N, three of the four trains will run according to schedule. In other places a normal timetable is expected. As for the RATP network, which includes the metro, bus and tram lines in the capital Paris, no disruptions are expected.
The upcoming strike follows two weeks after an earlier, moderately attended strike action by the SNCF. That previous strike was against the opening of the railway market to competition and the splitting up of SNCF Freight. The unions have also just emerged from a long-standing social movement against pension reforms. This included fourteen days of cross-sectoral strikes and a rolling strike launched on March 7 by all SNCF unions.
The strike at the SNCF will most likely happen the most sensible for commuters and travelers who rely on regional train services. While SNCF management indicates that there will be minimal disruption to the TGV lines, the TER and RER lines in particular will experience some disruptions. This reveals a pattern in which regional lines and therefore regional travelers are hit relatively harder by strike actions than those who use high-speed services such as the TGV.
expectations
French railway company SNCF has released detailed forecasts for train services on Friday, October 13, 2023, the day of the announced strike. In Normandy, the timetable on the Rouen-Dieppe, Le Havre-Rolleville and Rouen-Amiens-Lille lines will be normal. However, more disruptions are expected on the Paris-Chartres-Le Mans line. Travelers are advised to consult the TER Centre-Val de Loire website for up-to-date information. This also applies to regional trains in the Grand Est region, especially in Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine. Train services will be slightly disrupted in the Hauts de France region, and here too passengers are advised by SNCF to check specific regional TER websites for detailed timetables.
As for the RER and Transilien lines in the Ile-de-France region, for the RER C and D, two out of three trains are expected to run. The RER E will be slightly disrupted between Haussmann Saint-Lazare and Chelles Gournay. Two of the three trains will also run on the Transilien lines H, L and U. Line N will run three quarters of its trains and on line R an average of two out of three trains is expected, with a few trains between Paris Lyon and Montereau via Héricy. A “normal to near normal” service is expected on the RER A, RER B, RER E, and Transilien lines J, K and P, as well as tram lines T4, T11 and T13. The remaining lines, operated by RATP, will not be affected.
