Le Figaro Nantes
The trip was long.
Much more than expected.
A Ouigo train left Nantes, Thursday, November 24 at 7 p.m., only arrived the next day, around 4:30 a.m., at the Austerlitz station in Paris, nine hours later.
Initially, the trip was to end at 11:30 p.m.
The travel time was therefore almost doubled.
“The locomotive broke down near the Aubrais station located near Orléans”
, confirms to Figaro the SNCF.
“We found ourselves stuck on a bridge above a four-lane
,” says Charlotte, one of the passengers on board.
It is then almost 10:45 p.m.
At that time, the hope of arriving in Paris quickly was still strong.
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“The agents on board explained to us that an emergency locomotive was going to be sent to tow us. It was supposed to be 30 minutes. Except that the delay has turned into four hours
,” Charlotte quips bitterly.
A man escaped from the train
According to her, little information was communicated to passengers during this interval:
“Some got angry.
I even saw a mind-blowing scene: a person managed to escape from the train!
“
A story that the SNCF has not been able to confirm to us.
The lack of water and food was particularly at the heart of the tensions.
“There was a mother with her young child.
She had nothing left to give her to drink
,” says the professional designer.
For its part, the SNCF mentions that
“meal trays have been distributed to all customers”
.
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200% refund
Once there, the emergency machine towed the broken down train to Paris.
"The last kilometers were done at a slow pace"
, adds Charlotte.
She was not at the end of her troubles then.
“On arrival, we were not taken care of even though there were no metros and few taxis.
I just received a proposal to get reimbursed
, ”the young woman does not take off.
In a tweet, she expressed her dissatisfaction to sum up her night of trouble.
A nuanced speech by the SNCF:
“On arrival at the station, travelers were greeted by agents.
They were compensated up to 200%”
.
The company also specifies that
“transport tickets have been made for travelers who have had a connection break in order to allow them to continue their journey”
.