SNCF strikes in Île-de-France: users of the Transilien and RER lines will be compensated “between 10 and 91 euros”

Valérie Pécresse announced it on Wednesday morning during a visit to Corbeil-Essonnes (Essonne). As provided for in the contract between Île-de-France Mobilités and the SNCF, compensation will be paid to the authority in charge of transport for non-compliance with the “minimum service” during the days of the strike against the pension reform. In the event of a social movement, the SNCF is required to run at least 33% of trains during peak hours.

“We had strike days during which the minimum service of one in three trains was not guaranteed,” said the elected official on Wednesday. So the SNCF owes us penalties. We will work to compensate the most suffering users. IDFM will propose to increase this indemnity”.

Opening of applications in July

The president of Île-de-France Mobilités received transport user associations on Thursday to take stock of the branches and lines most affected by the strike movements. “Twenty-nine branches of train lines saw, over at least one day, service below 33%, and some had more than twenty days of service below 33%,” details IDFM. “The reimbursement ranges from a minimum of 10 euros, for one day, to more than 91 euros for certain users of the R line, who have experienced up to 29 days below the criteria of the contract”, we confide at Ile-de-France Mobilities. In total, more than 2 million subscribed users should be eligible for reimbursement in this respect. You will have to send your request on a portal put online in July.

How will compensation be calculated?

“A minimum refund of 10 euros will be applied for monthly or annual Navigo subscribers of the lines operated by Transilien SNCF Voyageurs having been affected by the strike for one, two or three days. For monthly or annual Navigo subscribers who have been affected for more than four days, the contract will be applied, i.e. a reimbursement of 2.80 euros per day of strike. It was decided to add an additional compensation of 10 euros to compensate for the hardship suffered by travelers during this period. »

Over the past four months, during a dozen days of mobilization against the pension reform, a certain number of lines operated by the national company in Île-de-France have experienced dropper traffic. Both on the Transilien network (lines H, J, K, L, N, P, R or U), and RER (lines A, B, C, D and E), the contractual minimum has not always been honored during peak hours.

“Users of very disrupted lines will be reimbursed, this is the positive aspect, reacts Quentin Tardy, of the Plus de Trains association. On the other hand, we find it surprising that the RER B does not give rise to any compensation”.

Five “very disturbed” days on the RATP side

On the side of the RATP, the strike movement was less followed. But according to calculations by the Plus de Trains association, “metro traffic was less than 50% on the entire network for five days”. What, in principle, trigger a “penalty” paid to injured users. This was one of the points at the center of the discussions on the methods of calculating the allocated reimbursements. But IDFM considered that users of the RATP network had solutions to circulate, unlike those of the suburban lines. “The RATP provides traffic at peak times, but not at off-peak hours, which allows it to respect the contract”, observes Quentin Tardy.

Funds not claimed during previous reimbursement campaigns – amounting to around 15 million euros – will therefore be “returned to the pot” to increase the sums paid to Navigo subscribers this summer. In addition to the thresholds set in the SNCF contract, Île-de-France Mobilités will thus add “surcharges” of 10 euros per day.

Automatic compensation provided

The packages eligible for reimbursement are: annual Navigo, senior, Imagine R student and school, monthly Navigo, including on the Discovery pass and on smartphone and the 50% reduction month package and 75% solidarity month package. They must be valid for at least one month of strike (between January and April) of the branches concerned.

The new four-year contracts, signed in 2020 and 2021 between IDFM, SNCF and RATP, provide for automatic compensation for travelers in the event of repeated delays. The case of social movements is also supposed to be treated according to “automatic” formulas. But negotiating margins still seem possible, in a context of degraded service and… an unprecedented increase in Navigo prices.