Reliability: Occitanie TERs are running late according to a new UFC-Que Choisir study

L’Occitanie affiche une ponctualité de 86,5 %, un mauvais chiffre. Midi Libre – GIACOMO ITALIANO

Une nouvelle étude de l’UFC-Que Choisir pointe du doigt le déficit de fiabilité des TER dont ceux d’Occitanie, deuxième région la plus impactée par les problèmes de ponctualité.

Despite the significant investments made by the regions for over 20 years, the quality of TER services is not up to par. This is demonstrated by a study by the UFC-Que Choisir association published on September 10.

The analysis of figures from the transport regulatory authority highlights that in 2023, 9.6% of TER trains were canceled or rescheduled, and among those that ran, 11.2% arrived at their destination at least 5 minutes late. Very poor figures compared to our European neighbours: France is eighth with a delay rate of its regional trains of 11% in 2023 when Austria can boast of having only 4.3%.

In France, a user who takes the train every day suffers on average two cancellations or delays each week.

Occitanie is among the worst performers with a punctuality rate of 86.5%, the lowest rate after the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region (84.7%). A percentage that Jean-Luc Gibelin, vice-president in charge of transport in the Occitanie region, puts into perspective, for whom “punctuality remains much better than it has been in recent years”.

The state of the infrastructure in question ?

The cancellations and delays are due to the state of the infrastructure neglected by the State, he assures: “We are asking for a real investment plan. It must implement rail renovation works, improve the condition of the lines, allow improvements to signalling, have faster trains…"

Okay. But all these malfunctions have a cost: first for the SNCF which must pay legal penalties, then for users who encounter, because of delays and cancellations, difficulties at peak times with crowded trains, professional and family impacts, the need to use an individual vehicle…

Several regions such as the Occitanie region do not provide any compensation in the event of delays while others provide compensation of up to 40% of the price of the subscription. However, the Region offers a system in its fare range that allows users to pay for the journey only when it is made.

The UFC-Que Choisir association calls on the public authorities to act to improve these dysfunctions “by imposing total transparency on TER reliability data, through the publication of all quality indicators at the line level, by harmonizing and strengthening the bonuses/penalties relating to the quality of service defined by regional contracts, by imposing the principle of systematic compensation for users in the event of recurring delays and finally, by harmonizing the compensation conditions between regions based on the best-priced proposals”.