The RER C, whose regularity figures have been poor for many months and which was the victim of a serious incident on March 18, will see its service improve
“from the Easter holidays”
thanks to recruitment, promised Tuesday Valérie Pécresse.
This line, the longest in the Ile-de-France network, had a regularity of 84.4% in February, the second worst ratio among all the RERs, behind the RER B (84.1%).
The regularity measured by Île-de-France-Mobilités (IDFM), chaired by Valérie Pécresse, evaluates the percentage of trains having run during peak hours, in relation to the number of trains ordered by the authority.
The objective set is to reach at least 90%.
On March 18, an electrical failure at a signal box at Austerlitz station paralyzed traffic for around two hours on part of the line.
“This must stop, the line must regain its reliability and robustness
,” criticized Valérie Pécresse, visiting the RER C installations to assess the recovery plan put in place by the SNCF.
The RER C is the fourth busiest with 540,000 travelers per day.
Above all, it will be
“a backbone”
of the Olympic Games since it will serve several sites in Versailles (horse riding, pentathlon) and Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (track cycling, BMX, mountain biking, golf).
Read alsoValérie Pécresse is banking on the smooth running of the Olympic Games
Recruitment of 10% additional drivers
It will also have the role of unloading lines 9 and 10 of the metro which are not designed to serve the events located at Roland-Garros and the Parc des Princes simultaneously.
For the Olympic period, the RER C is therefore one of the most reinforced lines with between 60% and 70% additional trains.
SNCF Transilien has therefore committed to recruiting 10% additional drivers because
“if this line has suffered so much, it is because it was missing 50 drivers”
, recalled Valérie Pécresse.
“They will all be there after the Easter holidays
,” rejoiced Valérie Pécresse.
The maintenance site will also be strengthened with the recruitment of 20 additional permanent workers and 20 temporary workers.
The rolling stock is 31 years old on average on this line, but the main problem lies rather in the obsolescence of the network.
“The switch failure - which occurred last Monday - is absolutely rare and SNCF Réseau is committed to the fact that the switch is now completely reliable
,” insisted Valérie Pécresse.
According to her,
“from the Easter holidays, people should see the difference”
.
Next Wednesday, IDFM must vote on a new master plan for the RER C during its board of directors, which plans major investments in the network for the years to come.