There is something new for the RER A: the line has benefited from a new management center since January. Managed jointly by the RATP and the SNCF, the line has been equipped to better respond to daily problems, on the eve of the Olympics.
It is in a huge room, one entire side of which is covered with screens, that the SNCF and the RATP jointly administer the RER A line — and it is there that everyday accidents are managed. The new CCU (or single command center) of the RER A was inaugurated on April 25, 2024, in the presence of several media, including Numerama. In operation since January, this center should allow line agents to communicate better, and therefore ensure better management.
Ensuring the management of the RER A is a daily challenge: the line is the most used in Europe, with 1.3 million travelers per day. Despite everything, the RER’s performance is “ exceptional », affirm the managers: the line benefits from 93% punctuality on average over 2023, with a peak of 95% in February 2024. It is to maintain these scores, and improve them, that the new center was designed.
The RER A is modernizing to better manage incidents
In the huge main room of the CCU, a gigantic screen keeps agents informed of the status of the line in real time. Lights flash, cameras continuously film the platforms, trains arrive and leave stations… All this activity is constantly monitored by agents. When an incident occurs, this is where the orders are given.
When an accident is spotted, whether it’s a forgotten bag or people on the tracks, drivers issue alerts to the nearest referral center, which relays them to the CCU. This is where decisions are made on what to do next, based on scenarios defined in advance. There are as many as all the possibilities of an incident.
In the rarest cases, it is sometimes necessary to cut off all electricity on the line. And for that, there is a big red button. It can only be triggered under certain conditions, in particular when contact is lost with the trains, Thomas Barrois, the CCU manager of the line, explains to Numerama. These losses of contact are nevertheless very rare, and only occur in a few white areas of the line.
The new CCU opened in January 2024 and has the enormous advantage of bringing together the RATP and SNCF teams, which manage the line in parallel. “ We have much better communication between teams with the new room », Indicates Thomas Barrois. “ We are already seeing an improvement » in terms of communication with passengers, he assures.
It must be said that before, everything was managed from a much older control room. Forget the large LED panels or the real-time display of security cameras: everything was done from a room opened in 1992.
The plan of the line was displayed on a huge whiteboard, in a room that looked like it came straight out of the 1980s. Now the new CCU has an 18 meter LED video wall to represent the entire line , with live video overlay (Numerama was not authorized to photograph them for security reasons). A huge step forward – which should make it possible to further improve line and incident management.
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