Paris-Aurillac night trains infested with bedbugs

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They called their WhatsApp group “Pétrin berths”, an ironic nod to their chaotic travels in night trains Paris-Aurillac, line back on track in December 2023, after 20 years of interruption. Four travelers parties on August 12 and 13, 2024 at the famous street theater festival in the Cantal prefecture arrived at their destination with bed bugs in their luggage… and sometimes even in their apartment. Between dismay and anger at the lack of reaction from the SNCF, they tell us.

Does one contaminated train hide another?

Leaving on the evening of August 12, Yelena wakes up with a blood-engorged bug on her, during a technical incident stopping the train in the middle of the night. She immediately reported the incident to a crew member on board. In the following day, around sixty red bites appear. The young woman goes to Aurillac station to do a second reportingand obtain an oral guarantee that the train would not leave again that evening.

By chance of the reservations, her friend Sarah travels that evening, in the same car, in the same compartment as her. Their berths are two intervals apart. “When Yelena called me to warn me, it was anguish. She told me not to panic, that she had made reports, that it should be another train. I couldn't afford to change trains anyway, it was too late to cancel my tickets,” rewinds the Parisian.

Arriving very early at Austerlitz station, Sarah tries to clarify the situation before boarding. “I only had contradictory answers or people who didn't know how to answer me. A first agent told me about disinfection, before telling me that he didn't know. Some told me it was the same train as the day before, others that it wasn't. » Armed with trash bags and Diatomaceous Earth (a lethal powder for insects), Sarah finally boards, her belongings scrupulously packed. Not reassured, she warns the travelers of her cabin.

Among them, Apolline and Ophélie, Ile-de-France residents and amateur actresses on their way to the festival. Alarmed, they try to protect themselves with essential oils and the plastic packaging provided with the pillows. But as soon as we arrive in Aurillac, there is no longer room for doubt.

While we were having coffee, I saw a bug attached to my t-shirt. Another was on a canvas bag, and the next day, a friend had one on his vest.

Staying in touch, the travelers ask themselves: Would the two trains infested in quick succession become one? “Even that’s not the case, it’s worrying, it means that there were two trains in a row infested with bedbugs,” emphasizes Sarah.

From Aurillac to Paris, a pest that clings

Party bugs have transformed festival days into cruel hazing: quarantines, emergency laundry, profusion of spots, even allergic reactions… “ I counted 170 on me», remembers Apolline. The anxiety does not leave the rail victims during their return journey. Ophélie decides to change her night train for a daytime ticket at great expense.

After a few days, Sarah sees her fears confirmed by a canine detection professional: the parasites have followed her, despite her precautions, into the apartment into which she has just moved with her companion Dimitri.

Faced with the very high cost of disinfection by a specialized company, the couple takes care of the very time-consuming cleaning protocol themselves. “We threw away a lot of suspicious objects, quarantined clothes, shoes and bags. We washed everything that could be washed at 60°C. Then, we vacuumed and steam cleaned the apartment on average every two days,” explains Sarah.

« We went through hell to vacuum the knees on the floor, everywhere: between each slat of the bed, each groove in the floor, behind the complaints, in the wardrobe… We put diatomaceous earth everywhere. We even tested dubious techniques, like traps made from brewer’s yeast or double-sided tape on the legs of the bed,” says Dimitri.

Insomnia, injections and paranoia

As is often the case with bed bug victims, the psychological consequences are numerous.

I had anxiety attacks when I went to bed. I slept very poorly, with my headlamp on. I was irritated at work. I scratched myself all the time, I developed a sort of OCD, checking the slightest task. I seemed to see them everywhere. The idea of ​​moving somewhere made me fear bringing it elsewhere.

Dimitri, talks about “hard times, when you get stung again after several days without anything. You fight against a soldier you don't see ».

The three other travelers, luckier, also left feathers. Inflatable mattresses, sleeping bags, tents and suitcases went in the dumpster. “When I arrived at my house, I undressed completely. I made lots of machines, froze things,” describes Ophélie.

Even without a trace of the pest, the fear of invasion is tenacious. “I've been through it again, but I've lived with it enormous stress for weeks, especially since I have a roommate,” breathes Ophélie, who lives in Charenton-le-Pont. “I still have things in trash bags that I don’t dare take out. It's always a trauma», confides Apolline. As for Sarah, free of bedbugs after a month of intensive efforts, she sometimes continues to scratch even without pimples and says she is “panicked at the idea of ​​taking the night train again”. Beyond the nearly 400 euros spent for the dog detection and the numerous items thrown away, the young woman especially remembers “what cannot be quantified, mental health”.

Complaints left unanswered

Before even knowing the extent of the damage, travelers made complaints to the SNCF, first individually, then via a common mail also addressed to several communities, including the Aurillac town hall. Following these reports, the mayor, Pierre Mathonier, contacted the management of the SNCF to inquire about the situation and find out the treatment methods put in place in these cases.

The travelers only received from the SNCF polite statements of “regrets for the inconveniences encountered”, accompanied by a voucher worth five euros the day after their trip, after “a request for compensation” made by the captain, indicates customer service in one of the messages that we were able to consult. “Its amount corresponds to lump sum compensation for the situation you experienced,” he specifies.

In response to her personal request for compensation to customer service, one of the passengers received a negative response: “After investigation, I regret to inform you that I have not found a report prepared by the conductor in connection with your complaint. » The SNCF mediator, contacted by Sarah, declared herself not competent to deal with this subject.

Bedbugs, rare on night trains?

Also contacted by Paris newsthe SNCF explains that it cannot provide any information on these trips, in particular for questions of GDPR regulations. She nevertheless tells us: “In 2024, less than five reports [pour punaises de lit] were carried out on the fleet of 129 cars at night. The number of reports and the overall infestation rate at the Intercités night park are in sharp decline.”

A fact which can be explained, according to the group, by the combination of three actions: “establishment of a preventive treatment for several years”, “effectiveness of curative treatment in the event of a report”, “purge effect of the renovation of night cars, initiated in 2020 and finished in the summer of 2023”.

A suspected car “is obligatorily removed for treatment and the travelers relocated as far as possible”, then assures the SNCF, without providing further explanations on our questions concerning the two Paris-Aurillac trains infested with bedbugs two evenings apart .

Gray areas in the SNCF processing protocol

The protocol put in place is as follows, we are told: “Once the report is received, we systematically treat the car concerned as a precaution,without necessarily being certain that they are bedbugs. Since April 2024,we ask for a photo of the bugreported because it has happened that garden bugs have been confused with bedbugs, leading to unjustified urgent reforms and treatments. » Despite their numerous reports, the travelers did not have to provide any photos, they assure us. They nevertheless spontaneously attached it later to their joint mail.

Our questions about the SNCF compensation policy remain unanswered. For the four travelers, consideration of this public health issue was largely neglected by the transport company.

It is scandalous that an institution like the SNCF is not capable of taking responsibility, taking responsibility for and managing the problem. Beyond financial compensation, we are above all asking for real management of the subject by the SNCF, transparent information policies. Bed bugs are an increasingly common public health problem that cannot be avoided.

For all the direct and collateral victims, this mishap will leave a bitter taste, at a time when efforts to revive night rail transport are increasing. Far from wanting to relive the psychosis that gripped Paris at the end of 2023, they say they have concerns about their future travels. “I love the train, the night train especially. This kind of experience is disillusioning,I will think twice about it now», laments Dimitri. “It seems like they are sweeping the dust under the rug. »

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