The tenth two-day strike sequence starts this Friday at the SNCF. The management ensures that the traffic conditions will be “among the best” since the beginning of the conflict.
The SNCF plans Friday 18th May “a little over one TGV in 2” on average and as many RER and two Intercity TER out of five, announced Thursday the deputy director general of SNCF, Mathias Vicherat.
Traffic conditions are “among the best seen since the beginning of the strike” of railway unions in early April, he said at a press point, before the tenth strike sequence of two days .
Regarding the TGV, the management of the SNCF mentioned “strong disparities” according to the regions. For example, four out of five trains are scheduled on the East axis and only two out of five in the North.
Two-thirds of low-cost TGVs, the Ouigo, will circulate Friday, “a first” since the launch of the conflict, according to Mr. Vicherat.
He mentioned “40%” of Intercités and “42%” of TER on average, again with “strong disparities between the lines”.
50% less strikers compared to Monday?
On the Transilien network, in the Paris region, the Deputy General Manager of SNCF quoted “a little more than one out of two RERs” on average.
In detail, half of the RER will run on line A and on the northern portion of B. Two thirds of the trains will run on the southern portion of the RER B and one third on the line C. The public rail group is on two trains in five for line D.
Mr. Vicherat spoke of a “significant decrease” in mobilization, citing, for the staff subject to a prior declaration, “nearly 50% less strikers” compared to Monday, the previous day of strike.
The inter-union of the SNCF (CGT, Unsa, SUD, CFDT) had called that day to a day “without railway” and “without train”. Among drivers and controllers, the rate of strikers had exceeded 74% , according to management figures.
“It was not a rebound (…) but rather a start, a day parenthesis.”
On Twitter, the head of CGT-Cheminots at the Gare de Lyon, Béranger Cernon, joked about Vicherat’s “superb press conference”. “He proudly announces that there are 50% less strikers compared to the last sequence and yet, we are very far from the 50% more traffic compared to May 14,” he wrote, concluding his message by “pipeau pipeau pipeau”.
Encore une superbe conférence de presse de @MathiasVicherat où il annonce fiérement qu’il y a 50% de grévistes en moins par rapport à la derniere séquence et pourtant, on est trés loin des 50% de circulations en + par rapport au 14 mai 🤔. Pipeau pipeau pipeau.
— berenger cernon (@slappy_w) May 17, 2018
