Accident at the East Station: how customers will receive compensation

After two days of hassle, users will get at least the meager satisfaction of getting a refund on their ticket. Customers who see their train departing or arriving at East Station canceled on Tuesday 24 or Wednesday 25 January will receive compensation. The riots arose after the arson of a signal box in Vere-sur-Marne (Seine-et-Marne).

Every day, 500 trains arrive or depart from the Paris station. “A classic and automatic exchange or refund procedure applies, as with other train cancellations that we support at SNCF Voyageurs. And this is regardless of the reasons, even when we have nothing to do with it. In contrast to the air travel sector, where European regulations do not require companies to compensate their customers if a flight is canceled due to reasons beyond their control, such as, for example, a weather event.

“Titanic Works”

On the other hand, SNCF excludes additional “exceptional” compensation, such as the 200% offered after the controllers’ strike at Christmas. “This purchase voucher corresponded to a very specific situation and period,” emphasizes the railway company. There is no need to reproduce it in the context of the events at the East Station. »

On Tuesday, almost all TGVs, Intercités, TER and Transilien remained at the pier. The progress of the “titanic work” carried out by the SNCF Réseau repair crews made it possible this Wednesday to improve the situation with three of the four TGVs on rails and normal TER and Transilien traffic. A return to normal life is expected this Thursday morning. “One hundred people, super-specialized teams, were involved day and night,” says Olivier Bancel, Executive General Manager of Maintenance at SNCF Réseau.