SNCF say strikes cause late trains

MORE than one in ten trains in France ran late in 2010 according to documents leaked to a national newspaper.

Les Echos reports that punctuality declined in all French rail services; TGV, Téoz, Corail Intercités, TER and Transilien.

By using the traditional methods of defining a late TGV as being five minutes late, punctuality levels have dropped from 81.2 per cent in 2009 to 80.5 per cent in 2010.

(The new system defines a late train as five minutes late for journeys of less than 90 minutes, 10 minutes late for journeys of 90 minutes to three hours and 15 minutes for journeys longer than three hours.)

On TER services, punctuality dropped to 89.82% from 91.4% and on Corail, from 83.93% to 80.66%.

"The year 2010 has been exceptional, in the worst sense," SNCF operations manager Jacques Damas told Les Echos.

"These figures prove that disruptive periods have effects long after they have finished," he added.

Mr Damas said that a combination of strikes and bad weather had hit the service, but had also caused knock-on effects on train maintenance leading to breakdowns and further delays.

However, the SNCF document recognises that even when these are taken into consideration, no service passes above the 92.3% punctuality level and long distance journeys no higher than 89.3 per cent.

An SNCF source told Les Echos that no matter how bad 2010 was, 2012 could be worse as the rail operator seeks to introduce a fixed-interval timetable.

"We will need to review the timetables across the country. It's an enormous job which could become a nightmare," said the source.

• Rail ticket prices are to rise by 2.85 per cent from February 8. The services affected are TGV, Téoz and Lunea.
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