TER delays in Occitanie: “Very heterogeneous performances”, discover the most impacted lines and those that are spared
|A TER at Alès station. Midi Libre – ALEXIS BETHUNE
UFC Que Choisir, which claims that Occitanie is one of the regions most affected by TER cancellations or delays, in a survey published this week, mentions “very heterogeneous performances”: Toulouse-Rodez, Nîmes-Le Grau du Roi and Toulouse-Mazamet are the most affected.
Not all lines are in the same boat. Following the publication, on September 10, of a survey by UFC Que Choisir on the unreliability of TERs, particularly in Occitanie, the association provides details on what works and what doesn't.
In 2023, the region's TERs carried 1.5 billion passengers, an increase. 13.2% of TERs were canceled or rescheduled, compared to 9.6% in France, Que Choisir points out.
But “The performance of the lines is very heterogeneous” : These regional averages actually hide a very contrasting quality of service within the Occitanie region itself depending on the lines”, specifies the consumer association.
“Not a week goes by without a hitch”
In the blackboard of cumulative delay and cancellation rates for the Occitanie region's lines in 2023, the Toulouse – Rodez line, with 14% of malfunctions, is the most impacted. At the other extreme, Carcassonne-Quillan “weighs” only 0.8% of the problems.
Nîmes-Le Grau du Roi (nearly 10%) and Toulouse-Mazamet (8.5%) are the two other lines most affected.
The UFC Que Choisir survey also takes the temperature of users, who express their dissatisfaction with the service provided: “Not a week goes by without a hitch. Every morning when the alarm goes off, the first thing you do is check the TER Occitanie website to see if the train to work is delayed or even cancelled”, says a user living in Saverdun, near Toulouse.
“Train full. People are packed in. The aisles are full of standing passengers. Not enough trains are passing during rush hour. Sometimes, there are trains with few carriages”, also notes a user of the Sète – Montpellier line.