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Thousands of prepare employees working for SNCF (French Railways) will go on strike by way of the weekend, inflicting chaos for tens of millions of passengers – together with British families coming back from half-term holidays in France.
Chefs de bord (prepare controllers) will stroll out from 8pm on Thursday night, 15 February, to 8am on Monday morning, 19 February, in a dispute over pay.
Half the deliberate high-speed TGV expresses and intercity providers are anticipated to be cancelled. Slower trains operated by the Ouigo low-cost model, in addition to native and regional providers, are unaffected.
SNCF is telling long-distance passengers: “Train traffic will be severely disrupted.”
Passengers are urged to postpone journey if potential. Cancellations can be introduced by 5pm a day earlier than departure.
While many native and regional providers are deliberate to run with “driver-only operation”, TGVs and intercity trains can not transfer with out a chef(fe) de bord. SNCF says: “Their role is not limited to just checking tickets: they guarantee the smooth running of each customer’s trip and carry out security and safety missions. They give the starting signal to the driver.”
Travellers whose trains are cancelled due to lack of on-board employees can be ready to swap trains if area is offered – although solely 300,000 seats on TGVs can be found by way of the weekend, a small proportion of the quantity of cancellations.
Normally TGV expresses carry over two million passengers per day. Bookings over the weekend – which coincides with peak journey for many French families – are possible to be even larger.
By approach of comfort, passengers whose trains are cancelled will obtain a reduction code for half-price rail journey on a future service.
Eurostar isn’t concerned within the dispute, however many passengers booked on its trains between London, Paris and Lille can be planning to join to or from SNCF providers – particularly families heading house from ski holidays within the Alps.
The cross-Channel prepare operator says: “Due to proposed strike action in France this weekend, we’re giving our passengers due to travel to and from London on Friday, Saturday and Sunday the option to exchange their ticket for free.”
For travellers who determine to swap to flights, air fares are extraordinarily excessive – with easyJet charging over €400 (£340) for a one-way flight from Lyon to London Gatwick.
The French prime minister, Gabriel Attal, criticised the strike plan, saying “working is a duty”. He additionally instructed reporters that rail strikes over busy vacation instances had been turning into a “kind of habit.”
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