The fear of a large-scale strike in trains in the run-up to the Christmas holidays is receding: Thursday’s mobilization, presented as an “ultimatum” before the December one, will be little attended in France. at SNCFwhich forecasts “almost normal traffic for TGV and Ouigo”.
There will be some disruption on regional lines, with seven TER trains out of ten on average. Intercity trains will also be affected, with only one in two running, and no night trains.
Ile-de-France, disruptions will be limited and will be concentrated mainly on RER D and Transilien line R, the strongholds of the Sud-Rail union, with only one train in three.
500 jobs cut
In early November, the CGT-Cheminots, Unsa-Ferroviaire, Sud-Rail and CFDT-Cheminots called for a major strike in response to confirmation of the dismantling of Fret SNCF, France’s leading rail freight company.
The company is due to disappear on January 1, to be replaced by Hexafret for freight transport and Technis for locomotive maintenance. The process is expected to result in the loss of 500 of the 5,000 jobs, although SNCF has promised to take back all railway workers not retained by other group companies.