Cantal. The Aurillac-Paris night train: promises that go off the rails

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Despite commitments by Jean Castex in 2021, then Pprime ministerthe Aurillac-Paris night train, restored in 2023, will not run daily, the unions announced*. A decision denounced by elected officials, unions and usersmobilized Friday November 22, 2024 to defend this service vital.

A unanimous mobilization for the night train

On the station square this Friday evening, anger grounds. Users, elected officials and unions gather to protest against the announcementon November 7, of the limitation from the Aurillac-Paris night train to weekends and school holidays. Initially, its daily circulation was planned from December 2024. But for Stéphane Rigal, general secretary of the CGT Cheminots du Cantal, this decision is incomprehensible.

“The night train is essential for the Cantal residents,” he insists. Despite schedules that are still poorly adapted, the service encounters a “great success” with an average occupancy rate of 60% on weekends, and peaks at 100% occupancy during the holidays.

He accuses the government of hide budgetary choices behind the work on the Brive-Paris line: “This work is not a brakebecause the train already runs daily during the holidays. For him, the limitation of the service reflects a state disengagement in the railway. he calls for national strike against “breakage of freight and opening to thea concurrence» , from December 12, 2024.

A major ecological and territorial issue

Bernard Delcros, senator from Cantal, shares this indignation. A long-time defender of rail in the Massif Central, he sees in rail development an “essential response to the ecological emergency» For him, maintaining the night train is a moral commitment: “This service remains insufficient, even though users are there. »

Pierre Mathonier, mayor, recalled in his speech that Aurillac is the prefecture the most isolated in France .

With full wagons during peak periods and attractive pricesthe senator believes that the potentialof this line is obvious. But beyond the figures, he insists on the strategic importance of this service to open up the territory and support professional travel, school and tourist. “When the fights are fair and carried out collectively, we win them,” he underlines, recalling the success of saving the line Aubrac.

After a meeting with the Minister of Transport, Bernard Delcros remains cautious, but confident: “I was assured that serious studies were underway with the SNCF. For me, there is hope.”

*Contacted several weeks ago, the Ministry of Transport did not confirm or deny the news.

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