French trains hit by SNCF walkout over pension reform

Rail travellers across France are likely to face disruption on Tuesday, as SNCF workers walk out in protest at the government's pension reform plans.

Ten days after Paris witnessed its largest strike action in more than a decade, when the capital's public transport system was crippled by a strike by RATP staff, rail services nationwide were set to be hit by strike action.

High-speed TGV services will only be 'slightly disrupted - with all trains running except along the Atlantic and North axes, where four trains out of five will run as normal. But the effects of the strike will be more keenly felt on other rail links. Two out of five of SNCF's Intercité services will run on Tuesday, along with three of five regional TER trains, and one in two scheduled Transilien services, the operator said.

Two Intercité routes from Clermont-Ferrand - one to Béziers and one to Lyon - have been cancelled along with Toulouse-Hendaye and Caen-Le Mans-Tour trains. Overnight Intercité services are the hardest hit, with only one in four operating.

In the Paris region, RER A will run as normal, but only two out of five trains will run on the northern part of RER B, from Gare-du-Nord, which is managed by SNCF. This will have a knock-on effect on trains on the section managed by RATP, where two out of three trains will operate.

One in two services will run on RER C, while two out of five services will run in lines D and E. There will be no traffic between Châtelet and Gare-de-Lyon on line D.

While 50% of Transilien trains will travel, just one in four services will operate on the R line to Montereau and Montargis.

Service on the main commuter RER trains in the Paris region will be slowed, but the city's transit operator RATP said the metro lines that ground to a halt during the mass strike on September 13 will be working "almost as normal".

For up-to-the-minute information on rail services during Tuesday's strike, log on to the SNCF website.