Pensions: regular users and subscribers of Intercités will be compensated, announces Beaune

After Navigo subscribers, it is the turn of regular users of Intercités to be compensated. This Thursday morning, the Minister Delegate for Transport, Clément Beaune, announced the establishment of a "gesture of compensation" for "users who have been most affected" on these lines by the social movement at the SNCF against the pension reform. "It is for example Paris-Toulouse, Paris-Limoges, Paris-Clermont-Ferrand, Bordeaux-Marseille," explained the member of the government, recalling the difficulties that users of these lines already have to endure, in normal times, such as delays and cancellations of trains. "There will be compensation, it will start on Monday" May 22, he added.

In detail, the refund will first concern travelers who took an Intercity subscription in January, February, March or April. These will recover 50% of the cost of their subscription. At the same time, travelers frequently taking Intercity trains without being subscribers will also be compensated: if they have made "at least five round trips on the same route between January and April 2023", they will be able to receive one hundred euros, said the office of the minister delegate. "This is a very important, exceptional gesture," said Clément Beaune, hailing a "measure of justice and respect for travelers".

Subscribers can be reimbursed automatically: they will therefore have no steps to take to receive 50% of their past subscriptions. For their part, other travelers will receive an email from SNCF customer service, which will guide them online to receive the hundred euros promised by the Minister Delegate. 20,000 people will be affected, in total, according to his office.

During the last days of action against the pension reform, demonstrations and strikes had severely disrupted train traffic. The Intercity network was among the most affected throughout the social conflict: on 6 April, for example, one train in four ran during the day, and none at night. A month earlier, on March 7, trains were virtually interrupted on these lines. What annoy travelers, who already have to endure many disruptions on these axes sometimes "neglected", according to the word of the minister delegate.

This gesture also echoes the reimbursement announced a few weeks ago by the Île-de-France region: following the disruptions caused, again, by the strikes against the pension reform, Île-de-France Mobilités (IDFM) had announced compensation for subscribers to the Navigo pass, equivalent to half a month's subscription. The refund campaign ended a few weeks ago.