SNCF 'risked lives as air-con broken'

THE SNCF has been accused of putting travellers’ lives in danger by running trains without air-conditioning in heatwave conditions.

Deputy mayor of Belfort and lawyer Bruno Kern has lodged a complaint against the train company saying passengers on the Paris-Belfort line had to cope with temperatures up to 40C during journeys which lasted five hours and more.

A regular on the route, Mr Kern told the newspaper L’Alsace that on one occasion a train was stuck for an hour in the full sun with no air-conditioning and – despite rail staff opening the windows – it made no difference as the train was not moving.

Now he has written the procureur at Belfort complaining about journeys at the start of the holidays on July 1, 5 and 8 when he says SNCF ran trains all week knowing the air-conditioning was not working.

His complaint is just the latest from passengers on the route who say trains break down regularly as the route is being ignored by SNCF in the run-up to the arrival next year of the new Dijon-Belfort TGV line.

Photo: Vincent de Morteau