Breakdown in the subway increases concern about Paris-2024 – 06/15/2023 – World

A breakdown on line 4 of the Paris metro, which cuts across the French capital from north to south, left passengers stranded for two hours inside trains during peak hours on Wednesday night (14). In overcrowded cars without air conditioning, the temperature reached 35°C.

The case, classified as exceptional by the responsible company, adds to multiple interruptions in service this week, putting in check the condition of transport during the Paris 2024 Games.

The incident began with a train stalling, disrupting traffic on the Paris north-south line at peak time around 6.30pm. The blockade caused a cascading reaction, with five full subways idling in tunnels while the problem was resolved, which took hours.

“We were trapped in unbearable heat,” said Oussama El Cherif, 19. After a long wait between two stations, he and several other passengers decided to walk along the tracks to exit the tunnel.

“On the train, there were people who were starting to feel bad. We were really on edge. Two or three people started to get angry, and some people kept pressing the alarm button,” reported Françoise Rouveyrolles, 67. line only ended around 21:30.

The responsible company, RATP, stated that the case was exceptional and that there will be an internal investigation to determine the causes.

However, at the same time, the metro line that connects Paris to Seine-Saint Denis, the host city of part of the Olympic competitions, was interrupted for two hours due to a technical incident, as announced by the company on Twitter. Services resumed after 10pm and, according to passengers, with trains taking more than 20 minutes to pass.

Around 6 pm, the line that cuts the capital from east to west had its traffic also interrupted for two hours. This time, the problem was not technical, but a security issue — any material found abandoned inside a station or a wagon, such as a suitcase or a box, provokes security intervention against the risk of attacks.

A train breakdown at Drancy station in Seine-Saint-Denis disrupted traffic on two other urban train lines, creating a hellish scene for thousands of passengers on their way home.

Imagine in 2024

Recent cases of transport problems make Parisians bet on chaos during the Olympic Games.

“You call that exceptional? The trains are old, nothing is seen in advance and everything is done at the limit. It’s the same problem every year in summer: no air conditioning and everyone in the carriage like animals. to be top for the Olympics! Shameful,” wrote a passenger on Twitter.

“The condition of the lines running north-south from Paris is a real concern for us”, says Arnaud Bertrand, president of the passenger association. In an interview with the BFMTV channel, he denounces maintenance problems and a lack of personnel to resolve incidents.

“In 14 months, hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world will experience what commuters in the Paris region experience every day at peak times,” says Bertrand.

The French government downplays the problem, but has shown signs that this is a concern. In November, former Prime Minister Jean Castex was appointed head of the company responsible for transport in the Paris region.

After Wednesday’s problems, an adviser to Emmanuel Macron’s government told Le Monde that this year is being a test to improve the system’s response in crisis situations. The Paris Metro doesn’t seem to have done well in the first test.