By Jerome Cavaretta
Published on 15 Mar 21 @ 6:52 pm
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On the front of the punctuality, the Cergy branch of the Rer A is still lagging behind. Less trains for more regularity : this was the promise made in December 2017 by the Ratp and the Sncf who co-manage line A. A small revolution in the world of rail which involved reducing the rate of six to five RER during rush hour, or one train every twelve minutes compared to ten minutes so far. And to make them all omnibus.
Three years later: the verdict is final. The schedule overhaul did not produce the desired effects. As proof, after a clear improvement in 2018 and 2019, offset by ever more crowded trainsets, punctuality is declining. The Cergy branch of the Rer A thus posted a rate of 85.4% punctuality for the year 2020. Against 94.1% for the whole of line A and 89.4% for the Poissy branch. Worse still, since the start of 2021, the punctuality of the Cergy branch (Val d’Oise) fell to 82.6%.
“The promise is not kept”
For Jean-Paul Jeandon, the mayor Ps of Cergy and president of the agglomeration of Cergy-Pontoise, the redesign of the Rer A schedule rhymes with failure.
“The promise has not been kept, there has been no improvement in punctuality, the system must be reviewed. In rush hour, the Rer is crowded, it plays on punctuality. We also have the interconnection at Nanterre where we lose 1 minute 30 to 2 minutes. The results are negative, we have fewer trains than before at rush hour and the regularity is not at the level that we could hope for. Finally, the cleanliness of the RER is not at the rendezvous. “
A feeling shared by Alexandre Pueyo, departmental counselor Lr of Cergy II.
“There is a decrease in punctuality for which I have no explanation. Work carried out in the morning and which is not completed on time undoubtedly causes complications. There is also the interconnection at Nanterre Préfecture and the coordination between the Ratp and the Sncf, the co-management of the Cergy branch is problematic. With the schedule redesign, we had to reach 90% punctuality, this is not the case … “
Eole
So that the Cergy branch stops playing latecomers, the two elected officials are campaigning for a rebalancing with the Poissy branch. A complaint hitherto never heard by Sncf and Ratp and Ile-de-France Mobility, the organizing authority for transport in the Paris region.
“The number of travelers has further increased, the Cergy branch is now 4.7 times more travelers than that of Poissy,” says Jean-Paul Jeandon. However, we are still at 5 Rer for Poissy and 5 for Cergy during rush hour. We need a rebalancing in favor of Cergy with 6 RER against 4 for Poissy and the elimination of the Poissy branch when Eole (Rer E, note) will be on the rails, in 2024. We must tend towards the frequency of the Saint- line. Germain-en-Laye, that is to say 10 or 12 Rer in rush hour. “
Alexandre Pueyo pleads in favor of 8 trainsets for Cergy against 2 for Poissy thanks to the arrival of the Rer E. Eole or the hope of a new wind for the service of Cergy and the Cergypontain territory.
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