Two years after its return to the right bank of the Rhône, the passenger train from Bagnols-sur-Cèze and Pont-Saint-Esprit is still in running-in mode

Fin août 2022, la présidente de région Carole Delga inaugurait le retour du train à Pont-Saint-Esprit et Bagnols-sur-Cèze. Midi Libre – GIACOMO ITALIANO

Pascal Rousson, president of the SNCF TER users association on the right bank of the Rhône, announced the figure of 75,000 passengers in 2023 for five daily round trips between Pont-Saint-Esprit and Avignon or Nîmes via Bagnols-sur-Cèze.

In three weeks, to be exact, on Wednesday, August 28, it will be two years since the passenger rail line became operational on the right bank of the Rhône. Twenty-four months since the return to rails of the regional express train changed the lives of the inhabitants of Gard Rhodanien, including those of Bagnols-sur-Cèze and Pont-Saint-Esprit. The president of the SNCF TER right bank of the Rhône users' association Pascal Rousson announced the figure of 75,000 passengers in 2023 for five daily return trips to two stations served. “That's the same number of people who haven't had to use their car” observes the vice-president of the Occitanie region responsible for transport, Jean-Luc Gibelin. It's definitely good for the carbon footprint.

A use for the population

This development is above all the result of political will. The President of the Occitanie region, Carole Delga, announced on December 14, 2016 that the reopening of the passenger line on the right bank of the Rhône was one of the priorities of her mandate. It has been done. “The return of the TER for passengers is a promise kept,” insists Vice-President Gibelin. “We have honored our commitment. Ridership is there. It shows that the train is useful for the population. You only have to see when there are malfunctions. For example, when trains are cancelled, users quickly make their complaints heard, which we pass on to the operator. This shows users' attachment to this rail link,” he emphasizes.

The app that informs you

This is the case of this young couple who left Montpellier on Friday, August 2, to spend the weekend in Bagnols-sur-Cèze. “In terms of schedule, we are not at all satisfied” says the young man, a professional animator, accompanied by his partner who is looking for a job. This Friday, August 2, they got up early to catch the train. The couple from Montpellier saw on the SNCF Connect application that in Avignon, the 8:22 a.m. train for the connection to Pont-Saint-Esprit had been cancelled. “There was a mention “reimbursement procedures”, indicates the young man. But the app didn't specify whether there was a replacement bus planned. Fortunately, for this time, the SNCF had chartered a replacement bus. But there have been times when we waited in vain for a train that ultimately wasn't going to arrive", says the Montpellier passenger.

A month of August impacted

In terms of quality of service, this month of August seems to have been particularly impacted. "The train has been regularly cancelled for several weeks"laments this young user. Every day, this regular on the Avignon Bagnols-sur-Cèze round trip has to anticipate the hazards. Once the rail option has been purged of these imponderables, the only alternatives left are the Lio buses (lines 122 and 123 for Pont-Saint-Esprit Avignon and 121 for Pont-Saint-Esprit Nîmes). The shortcomings in the quality of service are compensated for by the implementation of certain systems such as the Fairtiq application. “It's a process that ensures that the customer only pays when the train has run. And if it's removed, you don't pay anything” explains the Vice-President of the Region Jean-Luc Gibelin.

Verbatim

Bagnols-sur-Cèze SNCF train station: “There's someone at the ticket office. There are obviously the constraints related to holidays. We campaigned for staff to be kept at Bagnols-sur-Cèze station. The station reception is open from Monday to Friday.” Pascal Rousson, president of the SNCF TER users' association on the right bank of the Rhône.

SNCF Connect app:“Users who don't know how to use the applications “are completely lost”“observes the representative of the right bank users' association”Pascal Rousson.

Public meeting”: the TER SNCF users' association on the right bank of the Rhone is organizing a public meeting on September 20th at 6:30 p.m. at the cinema in Remoulins. As soon as the school year starts, users will once again hear the State, the Region and the SNCF being called upon to discuss upcoming line development projects. “The work is falling behind environmental studies and the public safety establishment “railway” deplores the president of the association..

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