Every second long-distance train is canceled: railway strike in France disrupts winter holidays

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The strike will last until Monday morning. The weekend falls in the middle of the school holidays for travelers from the Paris region. It is the first holiday weekend for a number of other major cities. A total of one million travelers are expected, the company said. Trains transporting ski holidaymakers must also be given priority. To achieve this, train traffic between Paris and Bordeaux was reduced by two-thirds.

Many travelers tried to switch to buses or rideshare. The platform Blablacar, which offers ride sharing and bus rides, saw a double increase in the number of requests on Friday.

The SBB advises you to inform yourself about the possible consequences for your journey from the railways concerned. The operator of the high-speed trains TGV Lyria wrote on its website on Thursday that the connections between Paris, Geneva, Lausanne, Basel and Zurich will be canceled on Friday and Saturday.

The strike is the result of a movement by train bosses responsible for both ticket inspections and safety in France. It was formed independently of the unions. Several unions also support the strike. The strikers accuse the company of not keeping its promises after the last mass strike around Christmas 2022.

The railway rejects this. “The company has kept its promises from 2022,” said Christophe Fanichet, director of SNCF Voyages. He was referring to additional positions and the payment of bonuses.

There have been wage increases of 17 percent in the past three years, says Alain Krakovitch, head of SNCF’s TGV Intercités department. The agreement at the end of 2022 provided, among other things, for additional positions and broader pension arrangements. (SDA)

Source:Blick