Cockroaches, maggots, condemned toilets… The CGT denounces the unsanitary conditions of certain Ouigo trains, the SNCF defends itself

“Inadmissible travel and working conditions» on trains Ouigodenounces the CGT-Cheminots in a communicated of August 11, relayed by Street 89. “Maintenance issueswould prevent multiple problems from being solved, such as condemned toilets, air conditioning breakdowns or harmful effects in certain trains.

” Ouigo train sets cover many more kilometers than conventional TGVsexplains Abdelkader Bensadoun, secretary of the CGT railwaymen of Lyon Perrache to Street 89. There are maintenance and unsanitary issues that would require some trains to be withdrawn for more than a week to do groundwork. » This summer, the low-cost subsidiary of the SNCF only has three spare trainsets to replace those going for maintenance. “At least six should be in reserve: three for the Atlantic part and three for the south-eastern part“says the secretary. He adds, however, thattrain safety is ensured“but that the group”saber everything concerning comfort, cleanliness…“.

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In all, 38 Ouigo trains circulate in France and, according to the CGT, some present problems of insalubrity. This is particularly the case of one of the trains that connects Paris to Lyon Saint-Exupéry: “Since the beginning of the summer, we have been alerted to the presence of cockroaches and larvae in train 774, and more precisely in car number eight. The train was taken out for a few days, but not long enough to deal with the problem in depth, and put back into circulation. » The SNCF provides the Figaro one “insecticide treatment was carried out over several nights in the car concerned” and “due to the persistent presence of pests, another heavier treatment” a necessity “immobilization of the train for several days” end of July. She was “restart in early August” and “is now monitored daily at maintenance sites“. But according to information from Street 89the day after the return to service, on August 4, there were still the presence of maggots and cockroaches in train 774, on the carpet and the walls of car 7.

4h30 journey without air conditioning

In addition to insalubrity, the CGT-Cheminots reports transport conditions “inadmissible» for travelers and Ouigo agents with clogged and condemned toilets or even air conditioning broken-down. “We sometimes do the whole route without air conditioning, from Marseille to Lille, a 4h30 journey“, mentions Abdelkader Bensadoun. Inconveniences also highlighted by travelers on Twitter: “no air conditioning, no flushing or water in the toilets, the level of dirt is highin a Ouigo connecting Nantes to Paris.

For its part, the company relativizes: “For air conditioning, the reliability rate is currently 99%. Of course, that leaves 1%. In the event of a breakdown, bottles of water are distributed or passengers are placed in another car. As for the toilets, in a Ouigo train there are eight of them, at the top and at the bottom, so that leaves alternative solutions if some are closed.“The group indicates”be surprised by this press release which only fuels a controversy. The problems have been identified, are already resolved or are in the process of being resolved. It’s not as black as described“. A meeting with the railway workers should take place this week to put these files back on the table.