Storm Ciaran: disruptions to expect in transport this Friday

Transport will still be severely disrupted this Friday. Certain TER but also TGV lines, particularly in the West, will remain interrupted on Friday due to the damage caused by storm Ciaran, SNCF said on Thursday, recalling that 4,000 agents, including 250 loggers, are mobilized. In the regions most impacted by storm Ciaran, “the resumption of traffic will take place between Friday morning and Saturday morning depending on the sector”.

As for the TGVs, they will run normally on Friday, except between Saint-Brieuc and Brest, between Lorient and Quimper, between Nantes and Les Sables-d'Olonne, between Arras and beyond Lille, as well as the first trains departing from Hendaye and Tarbes. Finally, as the climatic episode is not over, particularly in Hauts-de-France and Nouvelle-Aquitaine, “visibility of full recovery remains conditional on the end of the storm” in these regions.

If we look region by region, in Brittany, a partial resumption of TGV and TER traffic is planned from Friday morning at 5 a.m., we can read on SNCF Connect. There will nevertheless be no traffic throughout the day on Friday between Lorient and Quimper, Saint-Brieuc and Brest, Quimper and Brest, Guingamp and Carhaix, Guingamp and Paimpol, and Plouaret and Lannion. In Center-Val de Loire, “some disruptions are expected until the end of the evening” this Thursday. In Normandy, “the recovery will be very gradual from Friday”. In the Pays de la Loire region, “adaptations to the transport plan remain to be expected on Friday”.

In Hauts-de-France, “traffic will remain completely interrupted on Friday until the beginning of the afternoon and very disrupted the rest of the day”. Traffic on the Creil-Beauvais-Abancourt-Le Tréport, Laon-Hirson, Amiens-Compiègne, Douai-Cambrai, Arras-Etaples, Béthune-Saint-Pol lines are planned for Saturday during the morning. In New Aquitaine, “some train cancellations are expected until late Friday morning”. In Île-de-France, the Minister of Transport, Clément Beaune, specified that train circulation had resumed “completely” this Thursday evening. The minister recalled that 150 reconnaissance trains were mobilized to survey the network and assess the damage.

Concerning public transport, some disruptions will still be expected this Friday. In Finistère, public transport should still be “very disrupted”, according to the public transport network of the Brittany Region. Although services have resumed in Côtes-d’Armor, Morbihan and Ille-et-Vilaine, delays are however expected. In Normandy, buses should run “normally” this Friday.

In Hauts-de-France, however, certain public transport should still be affected by the damage from the storm. The two tram lines in Lille were disrupted by falling trees. The line linking Lille to Roubaix resumed at the end of the evening. The one towards Tourcoing should be operating by Friday morning. Less significant disruptions will also be expected on Line T2, in Valenciennes. A “return to normal” is also expected in French airports.