A nightmarish Friday night.
Passengers on the last Paris - Clermont-Ferrand train arrived at their destination... more than 7 hours late, reports France Bleu Pays d'Auvergne.
And without electricity or heating for several hours.
A locomotive breakdown is believed to be the cause of the incident which plunged travelers into darkness and cold, reports SNCF.
Departing from Paris Bercy at 6:57 p.m., the train arrived at its destination around 6 a.m. this Saturday... although it was due to arrive at Clermont-Ferrand station at 10:31 p.m.
Nearly 700 unlucky people were on board 14 Corail cars, reports the railway company.
The locomotive breakdown occurred when the train was traveling near Nogent-sur-Vernisson, south of Montargis (Loiret).
Very quickly, there was no longer any current to power the train.
The onboard batteries then took over before completely emptying themselves.
An unpleasant surprise for travelers who had to support each other for a night.
“We are alone but we have all become a family, it is very cold, we no longer have a toilet, we can no longer go to the toilet,” described a train passenger to local radio.
“We’re being taken around”
From Paris, the SNCF then sent a backup locomotive to take over and allow the train to leave for Clermont-Ferrand.
But this only arrived around 3:30 a.m.
In the meantime, the night was long for the passengers who were thinking of leaving peacefully for the weekend.
“There were children, babies, a school class on board.
The train was armored,” Peggy, who was on board, told Franceinfo.
The Red Cross was sent to the site, around 11 p.m., to distribute hot drinks and survival blankets to travelers, plunged in the dark.
The town hall of Nogent-sur-Vernisson had also provided premises available to passengers.
Nevertheless, the evening was bitter for the travelers.
“We are being fooled, the fact that these problems are recurring [
on this line
] is not normal,” lamented Peggy.
Also read “A network between chaos and agony”: logbook of daily hell in the TER connecting Oise to Paris
After the incident, the SNCF put in place an exceptional reimbursement system: 150% compensation will be put in place by the company for travelers who spent their night on the Paris - Clermont-Ferrand line.
The incident, exceptional in its duration, also caused disruptions on another line.
A train connecting Paris and Nevers and carrying nearly 300 passengers found itself stuck in Montargis for a good part of the evening, before reaching Nevers station at 3:30 a.m.... instead of 9:30 p.m.