in Paris, the infernal war between the RATP and the dead leaves

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Who says autumn, says dead leaves and beautiful colors. But for RATP, this marks the start of problems on their network. With leaf accumulation on the rails, associated with humidity, “the grip of the wheels can decrease”, explains the transport company, Paris news. Thus, the tram traffic has been disrupted many times in recent days. In particular, Monday November 18, 2024, where T1 was interrupted for almost 2 hours in Hauts-de-Seine.

“It’s a phenomenon that affects all rail operators”

These interruptions, frequent recently, tend to irritate users. And they make it known on social networks. On X, an Internet user complained about it on November 19, following the interruption of the tram T3a in Seine-Saint-Denis: “It’s still hot, what incompetence not able to anticipate that in autumn the leaves fall.

But for its part, RATP defends itself, declaring that it has implemented a “leaf plan”available on all railway lines since the beginning of autumn. “It is a phenomenon that affects all operators railways,” insists the transport authority.

These annual operations are revised and adapted every year before the first leaf falls. “These plans describe preventive and corrective cleaning interventions, but also the nature of the means implemented and the measures to be taken,” specifies the RATP.

Specialized vehicles for cleaning the rails

Concretely, “cleaning tours” are carried out daily with “staff on site and specialized vehicles”. These are equipped with brush systemwater jets and blowers to clean the rail and maintain good adhesion with the train wheels.

At the same time, an “on-call system is also triggered in the event of slipping rail report by the drivers,” says the RATP. This method also allows you to add sand on the rail to promote adhesion. “Coordination work is also implemented with road managers in order to limit the proliferation of leaves dead near tram platforms,” she assures.

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