exceptional mobilization in the face of the closure of the second busiest line in Europe

2023-08-11 17:43:27

The transport authorities had warned: the year 2023 would be that of all work and all sites on the Ile-de-France rail network, one of the densest in the world. Exceptional construction sites, cuts in all directions, with the exceptional situation of the closure of part of the RER B, the second busiest line in Europe, the long weekend of August 15, including, extremely rare, a weekday. Line K, which serves the north of Ile-de-France, and the TER Paris-Laon are also affected between Paris and Mitry.

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For line B, it is the section beyond the Gare du Nord, the branch that goes to Roissy airport and to Mitry-Claye, crossing Seine-Saint-Denis, which is concerned, from Saturday August 12 at midnight until Tuesday August 15 in the morning. For three days, no train will run between Gare du Nord and Aulnay-sous-Bois towards Roissy, and between Gare du Nord and Mitry-Claye.

It is not only a question of preparing for the arrival of the CDG Express, the future direct Paris-Roissy link, and of creating the interconnections with the future lines 16 and 17 of the Grand Paris Express, but also of creating these reversal routes which will offer possibility, in the event of an incident on the RER, of cutting the line in pieces.

“Front Line” Worker Segment

These planned works are necessary but their impact is considerable. On this section, 200,000 people usually circulate, even on a Monday in the middle of August. It was the busiest during the confinement period. He is that of the “front lines”, as the essential workers whose position is not teleworkable have been renamed. However, the exceptional number of buses deployed to compensate for the cut will not be enough. Only 100,000 passengers can be transported. Hence the insistent calls to limit travel on Monday.

A total of 600 replacement buses, including 168 coaches just for the airport, and 1,000 additional drivers have been mobilized. Several calls for tenders have been launched. Vehicles come from “everywhere in Ile-de-France and in France”, says Amandine Martin, General Secretary of Transilien SNCF Voyageurs. From the airport, tourists will preferably be boarded in shuttles which will take them directly to Paris. Other buses will connect Aulnay-sous-Bois, in Seine-Saint-Denis, to the Stade de France RER D station. In Aulnay, a bus is scheduled to leave every forty seconds. Baggage handlers, 200 red vests, these employees who assist travelers during busy periods, are called in as reinforcements. For its part, Groupe ADP (formerly Aéroport de Paris) announces that it has set up a specific display on arrival. More agents, specially trained, will be present. Airlines have been notified.

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