After having experienced a record attendance during the Christmas holidays, the SNCF is overtaken by the variant Omicron. The group will cut 10% of its TGV and 20% of Intercités from next week, announced a spokesperson on Friday, explaining this measure by a drop in reservations due to the health crisis.
“Taking into account a 30% drop in reservations since the start of the year, particularly during the week, the TGV transport plan will be adapted from next week and provided for 90% of the offer. planned, and 80% for the Intercités, ”said a spokesperson for SNCF. Travelers whose trains are canceled will be contacted and will be able to change their ticket or be reimbursed, he assured.
The SNCF, whose travelers had largely returned during the Christmas holidays, has already downsized several times since the start of the health crisis.
“Like any employer”
“It is not a question of unexpected train cancellations but of adapted transport plans, which can take into account the reduced number of travelers but also the objective of ensuring a most reliable transport plan for travelers, taking into account take into account the effects of reduced availability of SNCF staff affected by the Covid, ”the spokesperson explained on Friday.
“Like any employer, we are indeed confronted at the scale of the SNCF group with the effects of this 5th Covid wave, but neither more nor less than the rest of the company”, he specified.
All night trains will be provided, while “the adaptation of the offer will be stronger” for international TGVs, in particular for the cross-Channel Eurostar service “which will run at less than 10% of the planned supply”.
At regional level, TERs have been affected for several weeks by “local adaptations” of transport plans. “On average, more than 90% of TERs continue to circulate nationally at present,” according to the spokesperson.
As for suburban trains in the Paris region, “the Transilien transport plan will be almost normal in the coming days and could be slightly adapted next week depending on the lines depending on the health situation and the availability of SNCF agents”, he finally warned.