The RER C is mainly concerned, with the elimination of 19 trains per day throughout the month of September.
As Ile-de-France residents return from vacation, some will encounter certain traffic difficulties in public transport. “ Traffic is reduced and deletions are to be expected “, is it indicated on the SNCF-Transilien site for the RER C and RER D. “ Reason: difficulties related to a lack of staff “, it is specified.
“ On the subject of recruitment, in particular that of drivers, all lines are concerned but some may be more impacted than others. This will be the case for RER C in September “, specifies the railway company. 19 trains have actually planned to be canceled each day, or 4% of the transport offer on this line. With regard to the RER D, the information to travelers indicates deletions to be expected from August 29 to September 16.
Recruitment difficulties
To explain this situation, SNCF-Transilien evokes several reasons. With regard to the RER D, it would be a very temporary phenomenon, linked to the summer holidays of employees. For RER C, the personnel issue seems more sustainable. “ Like many companies at the moment, we are having difficulty recruiting train and RER drivers in particular. The health, economic and social crisis linked to Covid-19 has slowed down the recruitment and training of our agents over the past two years. », Says the railway group, specifying that sickness absences linked to Covid-19 also amplify the organizational difficulties.
Very different story on the side of the unions. Fabien Villedieu, elected Sud-Rail to the board of directors of the SNCF: “ With its performance plan of 900 million euros voted last year, the company has made savings on recruitment and training. To this is added a lack of attractiveness of the SNCF and a record turnover “, he says. For him, the deletions of trains during the day are likely to last. “ It won’t just be September, it won’t change “, he hammers.
SNCF-Transilien has set itself a target of 600 recruitments for 2022, in particular 200 train and tram-train drivers. But these resources will be able to swell the ranks of the teams only in a year, after their formation.
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Deletions of trains that risk costing the railway group dearly since Île-de-France Mobilités (IDFM), the transport regulatory authority, intends to impose penalties for each uninsured train. “ This should represent a few hundred thousand euros. Many sectors lack manpower but the SNCF failed in its obligations. They should have anticipated », slice Laurent Probst, managing director of IDFM. Discussions are currently underway between the regulatory authority and SNCF-Transilien to ensure that the canceled trains impact users as little as possible. “ A train in Pontoise, around 7 a.m., was notably deleted. We’ll see if it’s possible to do it differently. “, explains Laurent Probst.
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