During his recent speech on Europe at La Sorbonne on April 24, President Emmanuel Macron once again expressed his desire to accompany France and Europe towards modernity. Taking advantage of this sentiment, the collective of Clermont-Paris train users requested a meeting with the President to address the issues plaguing the Paris-Clermont railway line and bring it into the modern era.
The collective’s petition, launched last year, aims to reduce the travel time between Paris and Clermont to 2.5 hours, as opposed to the current 3 hours and 24 minutes. With over 12,000 signatures, the petition highlights the frustration of passengers like Louise, who constantly deal with unpredictable arrival times on the train.
Comparing the travel times to other cities like Strasbourg and Lyon, which are farther from Paris than Clermont-Ferrand, the collective underscores the need for improvements to the railway line. This plea comes amid delays in the delivery of new “Oxygène” trains, scheduled to replace the outdated Intercités, with the first trainset not set to arrive until 2027.
Following a serious incident in January, where passengers were stranded overnight on the train, the SNCF implemented an emergency plan in February. While the addition of an emergency locomotive in Nevers in March has helped, it does not address the underlying problems facing the Paris-Clermont railway line. The collective, led by spokesperson Stéphanie Picard, hopes to secure a meeting with the Élysée to further address these issues.