Heatwave: Intercity train traffic will return to “normal” from Monday, August 18

Intercités train traffic disrupted by the heatwave will return to "normal" from Monday, August 18, on the Bordeaux-Marseille, Paris-Limoges and Paris-Clermont-Ferrand lines, SNCF Voyageurs announced in a note sent to Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Thursday, August 14. "Intercités transport services will return to normal on all lines" from Monday, and there will be "no more cancellations" to be expected, the railway company said.

Since Monday, "three round trips between Bordeaux and Marseille, as well as two round trips between Paris and Clermont-Ferrand" have been cancelled each day due to the heatwave that has been affecting France since Friday. The Paris-Limoges-Toulouse route is also affected, with one to three round trips cancelled per day until Sunday.

These Intercités lines run Corail trains that are sometimes 50 years old, and whose air conditioning is at risk of breaking down. "Their old design does not guarantee them the same robustness as more recent trains," explained SNCF Voyageurs in comments sent to the press, particularly "in certain weather conditions such as those currently encountered."

The Corail Intercités will be gradually replaced from 2027 by the "Oxygène" trains, designed by the Spanish manufacturer CAF. They will offer more comfort, better accessibility for people with disabilities and will reduce the Paris - Clermont-Ferrand journey time by a quarter of an hour.