“I am exhausted”: night of ordeal for 700 passengers on a Paris-Clermont train, stuck for hours without heating on the track

Le train est resté bloqué des heures, sans chauffage. MAXPPP – Bruno Levesque

Departing from Paris-Bercy around 7 p.m. Friday January 19, the Intercités train finally arrived in Clermont-Ferrand in the early morning this Saturday January 20. Tale of a nightmarish night for the passengers. 

10 hours of train travel between Paris and Clermont. Passengers on the Intercités between Paris and Clermont-Ferrand experienced a real ordeal during the night from Friday to Saturday, indicates BFMTV.& nbsp;

Having left in the early evening, the train found itself stuck on the track between Montargis and Nevers. It was then 8:30 p.m. and the passengers were informed of a slight delay. They are not finally at the end of their troubles. 

Exceptional compensation promised by the SNCF

While the outside temperature is negative, the train is deprived of electricity and therefore of heating. "It lasted three hours. There wasn't a light, we were in the middle of the countryside. Frankly, it was very strange, special, a passenger told RTL. "Luckily we had survival blankets two hours later."

To get something to eat and drink, however, you will have to wait until the middle of the night. "There were young teenagers traveling alone, elderly people", details on RMC another passenger who says he is "exhausted" after spending a night in the cold. 

💬 "On avait extrêmement froid dans le train (…), je suis exténué"

William, un auditeur de RMC, raconte sa nuit de galère dans le train Paris-Clermont pour la #MatinaleWERMC. pic.twitter.com/glnEdsBnUl

— RMC (@RMCInfo) January 20, 2024

At the request of our colleagues, the SNCF mentions a "locomotive problem" and promises "exceptional compensation measures", specifies BFMTV.