Travelers whose trains have been canceled for the Christmas weekend due to a strike by controllers will be reimbursed double the amount of their ticket, Christophe Fanichet, CEO of SNCF Voyageurs, announced on Wednesday.
"
For travelers who will not travel and whose train will be canceled, it is 200% reimbursement
", he said on Franceinfo, saying that this strike would cost "
several tens of millions of euros
" to the SNCF.
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"
I want to apologize to the company
," said the leader immediately.
“
A strike for the Christmas holidays is really unacceptable, I am angry
”.
The strike, which the SNCF unions did not openly call but for which they left notice, will cause the cancellation of around one in three trains this weekend, mainly TGVs.
Read alsoSNCF, all-category champion of strikes in France
On Friday, in detail, two out of three TGVs should run on the Atlantic and Mediterranean axes, and one in two trains on the North axis.
The Paris-Lille shuttle will however be almost normal.
Three TGV Est out of four will run.
TGVs between provincial stations should be more impacted.
Three Ouigo out of four should also circulate.
The Intercités will run normally, even if deletions have been reported.
The SNCF promises that travelers can exchange their tickets online free of charge, if their initial train is cancelled, without having to pay any price difference or exchange fees, certainly on condition of finding places in trains that are now almost full for the weekend.
“
The exchange is free, they can take another train to the same destination, any other day, without any fare increase
,” repeated Christophe Fanichet.
The SNCF has not yet given the details of the cancellations for Saturday and Sunday, but has already said that the situation should be slightly degraded compared to Friday.
