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Europe-wide strike set to hit rail services in France

The Local France
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Europe-wide strike set to hit rail services in France
A European wide strike of rail workers is set to hit train services in France from Tuesday at 7pm. File photo: Bertrand Guay/AFP

A strike, set to be begin at 7pm on Tuesday, will hit services across France, with delays expected in various areas of the country. Find out how the industrial action, which will continue until 8am Thursday, could affect you.

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The French rail network is expected to be hit by localised delays when a Europe-wide strike against European Union rail reforms begins at 7pm on Tuesday.

As part of a day of action the workers’ unions Confédération Générale du Travail (CGT) and Confédération Française Démocratique du Travail (CFDT) are going on strike to protest a series of EU measures aimed pushing through the deregulation of public transport in the European Union from 2019.

CGT members are also using the walk-out, which will last until 8am on Thursday, to protest against proposed reforms within France that would see rail operator SNCF unified with the other public entities that manage the railway infrastructure.

Gilbert Garrel, Secretary General of the CGT Cheminots said: "It is imperative to block the privatisation measures from Brussels which seek to uproot long-standing companies, destroy the idea of national public services and widen the competition."

The last rail transport strike on June 13th involved six unions and 70% of drivers and controllers but this week's strike will be restricted to more localized disturbances on the national rail network.

The following is a breakdown of what to expect from Tuesday 7pm onwards.

  • Traffic will run as normal on all TGV lines, as well as Eurostar trains, Thalys, Lyria and international trains to Germany, Italy and Luxembourg
  • All night trains will be cancelled
  • All Talgo and Elipsos trains to Spain will be cancelled
  • Intercité trains will be running an average of 3 out of 4 trains. For more details see their website: http://www.infolignes.com/
  • Possible disruption on the following lines : Paris-Orléans-Bourges, Paris-Limoges-Toulouse-Cerbère et Bordeaux-Marseille-Nice.
  • TER trains will almost run as normal, but you can check the website for specific routes: www.ter-sncf.com
  • The RER will run as normal except for  lines C, N and U which will have only 7/10 trains, see www.transilien.com for more information
  • The Paris Metro will not be affected by the strikes

by Naomi Firsht

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