RATP equipment celebrated the arrival of the first heat in the Paris region in its own way. On Wednesday June 14, several hundred metro passengers were stranded, sometimes for more than two hours, in stifling conditions, without fresh air, water, toilets or electricity, at several points on the network.
The most serious incident, described as“exceptional” by the RATP, took place on the southern part of line 4, which was therefore partially closed. Around 7:25 p.m., in the middle of rush hour, a train failure disrupted traffic between Porte-d’Orléans and Montparnasse stations and led to the blockage in the tunnel of five trains “very full”, according to the RATP. The board did not quantify the number of users concerned, but each metro has a carrying capacity of more than 600 passengers.
Travelers had to wait to be evacuated on foot on the rails in the tunnels, some on their own initiative, the Paris carrier said. Videos and photos circulating on social networks show users suffering from the heat in crowded trains.
“It was really difficult to live, more than two hours without knowing what wasexplained to Agence France-Presse, Françoise Rouveyrolles, 67, who was going to the theater with her husband when she found herself trapped. In the train, there were people who were beginning to feel bad, to get angry, they were constantly activating the alarm sign. » The evacuation was completed at 9:30 p.m.
A “rare incident”
” This are exceptional conditions that almost never happen”said Agnes Ogier, director of rail services at RATP. The company’s CEO, former Prime Minister Jean Castex, has called for an internal investigation “to determine the exact causes of this rare incident”, specified the RATP.
To this major disruption on line 4 was added, at about the same time, without this having the slightest connection, a stoppage of the whole of line 13. Between 8.30 p.m. and 10 p.m., a breakdown computer forced the RATP to stop all trains in order to solve the problem. “We preferred to drive the trains to the station to evacuate the passengers without difficulty, which is preferable and less stressful for our customers than evacuation in the tunnels” clarified Agnès Ogier.
To top it off, a broken down train in Drancy, north of Paris, severely disrupted traffic on lines B and D of the RER. A sort of series law which transformed the exit from work on June 14 into a galley evening for Parisian users.
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