With new Bombardier Omneo Premium units finally entering service, plus TGVs and Regiolis units being transferred temporarily, the new rolling stock is starting to make significant in-roads to the corail hauled Normandy services from St Lazare hauled by BB 15000/26000s locomotives. By the end of November 14 Bombardier Omneo Premium units had been delivered for long distance services from Paris St Lazare. At the beginning of the month a TGV Atlantique set began operating on St Lazare - Le Havre services, the first time they have operated into St Lazare (see video below).

The French Government introduced a second lockdown on the 31st October. Initially for two weeks, the period was extended to four weeks as numbers of positive tests and levels of hospitalisation increased. During this deuxième confinement travel was allowed for essential purposes only, although people were allowed to travel to work if unable to work from home. Each TER responded differently. Hauts de France announced that services would be cut by 30% from the 9th November to meet falling demand and allow for staff who were self-confining. Initially timetables were issued on a daily basis and confirmed at 17:00 the previous day with revised timetables introduced from the 16th November.  Nouvelle-Aquitaine initially announced that they would maintain their normal timetable, but with passenger numbers falling by 48% during the first week a revised timetable came into operation from 16th November. This provided for 80% of weekday, 45% of Saturday and 60% of Sunday services.

On long distance travel TGV services were reduced further (see November News)with some routes operating at only 30% of pre-pandemic levels. On cross border routes Thalys suspended its low-cost IZY service from 7th November and reduced its normal service to two Paris - Brussels and one Brussels - Amsterdam service daily with no catering or lounges available. Eurostar services were reduced to one return service daily, while Lyria services were reduced to two Geneva and one Zurich service daily, with no service to Lausanne.

In Paris and the Ile de France Region passenger numbers generally fell by 50% compared to the previous year, although on the Metro it has been down by 70%, with off peak and late evening services cut by 50%. RER's A, B, C and E have been running a normal service with some reductions on RER D. Only RER B saw passenger numbers at normal level due to the high number of commuters living north of Paris with jobs that could not be undertaken from home. Transilien services have been reduced off-peak with a minimum of one train every 30 minutes.

On the 24th November President Macron announced further measures. The lockdown will continue until 15th December with some eagerly awaited relaxations from 28th November (service outlets like hairdressers and all small high street shops previously considered non-essential can re-open. Dogs can be exercised for three rather than one hour per day and joggers can jog further than 1 km). If, by the 15th December, daily new infections have dropped below 5,000 then travel will be unrestricted but a 21:00 - 07:00 curfew will operate everywhere. Restaurants and bars will remain closed until 20th January and ski resorts will not open for the Christmas/New Year break. 

During the second half of December SNCF will increase services to normal levels for the Christmas/New Year break. From 13th December Thalys will operate four return services to Brussels daily, with one continuing to Amsterdam and another to Dortmund. They do not envisage returning to their normal service until 2022. Between 13th December and 4th January Lyria will operate five daily return services between  Paris - Geneva and Paris - Zurich and three daily return services from Paris to Lausanne via Dijon and Vallorbe.

With the cutback in services the withdrawal of the remaining Class Z 6400 units was hastened and by mid-November only six of the original 75 units remained in service. Introduced between 1976-1979, the Z 6400 units were the last of the stainless steel emu's. The four car sets were designed for the short suburban platforms at St Lazare and used to operate to Versailles Rive Gauche and St Nom-la-Bretêche, via St Cloud, and to Poissy. The remaining units are expected to be withdrawn by the end of the year.

Since the beginning of the year  €6 million of track regeneration work has been taking place between Brive and Périgueux using a new Plasser and Theurer factory train. This will enable a new timetable to be introduced from December 13th with nine services each way during the week, compared to six previously. Average journey time will be 52 minutes, a reduction of about 10 minutes. Four stops (Milhac-d'Auberoche, La Bachellerie, Limeyrat and Larche) will be closed. They were only served by one train each way a day. An on-demand taxi system will be set up for these four stops. Users will be able to call the day before their journey, and they will be taken to the station closest to their home. Perhaps an optional request-stop system would have been simpler and more environmentally friendly!

With  BB 17000's no longer available the role of taking withdrawn stock to Sotteville now falls to Class BB 22200, normally IDF pool BB22218. On 12th November Infra sector BB22399 was used and is seen below passing Porcheville en route to Sotteville with withdrawn VB2N set 252. Both photos. Romain Vergnères

 

 

 On 16th October 2020, a convention was signed at Dijon between Bourgogne Franche-Comté Region, SNCF Réseau and the French State. The purpose is to renew the single track and repair the infrastructure along the "Ligne des Horlogers". All current speed restrictions will be lifted after completion. The estimated cost will be 55.5 million euros, shared by the Region and the State, 46% each, and SNCF Réseau 7.5%. An application has been made to Brussels for a subvention of 6 million euros, since this is an improvement to an international line.