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La Boutique
Metro and Bus, RATP - Except for line 10, all Metro lines are operating nearly normally.
- Most buses are circulating normally, except a few operating from suburban centers. My information on buses was apparently incorrect yesterday, with only about 50% in operation at noon.
- 'Batobus' on the Seine and the Canal de l'Ourcq continues, although with a less frequent shedule. The suburban runs to Pont de Surenses and Alfortville have been stopped. 'Plan Bus' has been suspended.
RER and SNCF Paris Suburban services
- Transit rate is nearly normal for the whole network.
- RER 'A' - almost 100%.
- RER 'B' - almost 100%.
- RER 'C' - about 75%, direction west.
- RER 'D' - assumed to be normal.
- Gare de Nord, de l'Est, de Lyon - traffic normal.
- Gare St Lazare - normal, except for service 66% on line St Quentin-en- Yvelines to La Defense.
- Montparnasse - about 66%, plus connect to RER 'C' - about 75%.
SNCF, TGV Long Distance
- TGV Nord - normal service, except for Paris-Brussels, where there is now a strike.
- TGV Atlantique - south-west - service normal.
- TGV south-east - service normal, except for Paris-Marseille and Paris- Montpellier, both of which are supposed to have one train out of two.
- Eurostar - service normal to London; no service to Brussels (on strike).
Other SNCF Long Distance
- Paris-Marseille - only TGV trains are running.
- Paris connections to Montpellier, and Limoges-Toulouse, are about one train out of two.
- Cross-France trains - one train out of two.
Note:
Besides verifying all their equipment and inspecting the rails, SNCF is also facing a monster backup of freight trains. Spain's RNFE delivers 40 trains every day to France at Perpignan, and these trains have been stalled there and on the Spanish side for several weeks. A similar situtation exists at other rail border crossing points. I have seen no mention of that German Panzer division, 'lost' somewhere on a siding in eastern France. SNCF normally runs 12,000 trains day in France.
La Poste
Today 13 sorting centers are still on strike; about 122 are operating normally. Five of the blocked sorting centers are in the Paris region.
Automobiles
Repeat Warning: Paris cops are handing out Parking Tickets again. Don't be surprised if they are not also hauling away illegally parked cars as well.
Airports
Paris region airports - no news is good news.
The Information numbers : (toll-free available in France only).
- SNCF Paris region, 05 15 24 24 - toll-free.
- SNCF national: 05 41 14 11 - toll-free.
- SNCF Minitel: 3615 SNCF; Reservations, in Paris, tel. 45 82 50 50, and from outside Ile-de-France, tel. 36 35 35 35.
- RATP: 05 15 11 11 - toll-free, or Minitel: 3615 RATP.
- 'Batobus' Seine commuter Boats, in Paris: 40 58 27 90.
SNCF Note:
SNCF has a ticket refund plan. For a simple refund, ask for one at any SNCF station, until 31. January 1996; or write your name and address on the back of the ticket or reservation, and mail it without postage to 'Boite Postal SNCF, Service Remboursement Clients, Libre Reponse No 284, 92139 Issy-les-Moulineaux Cedex. From outside France, you should put a stamp on the envelope. Travel agents have been authorised to make refunds as well.
RATP, has announced that from today, December Orange Cards can be exchanged for valid January ones; which are valid from today - even those newly purchased today. There are refund schemes for most other multiple tickets as well.
Road Information, Paris region, Ile-de-France:
- Auto-answer: 48 94 33 33
- Minitel: 3615 Route
Some Numbers
the 'Plan Bus' carried 1.7 million passengers from 4. December until the 19th. That translates into 150,000 per day. The service used 900 rented buses on 163 routes.
'Batobus' had 30 boats running on the Seine and the Canal de l'Ourcq, and carried 400,000 commuters in three weeks. 'Batobus' runs a regular service from April to September on the Seine in the center of Paris. In its last season 'Batobus' carried 110,000 passengers. According to the service's director, Bernard Briffa, many passengers would like to bring their bikes with them; and for that both the docks and the boats would have to be modified.
Internet service providers did well too. Two well-known operators announced that they saw their sign-ups increase by 15-18 percent during the strikes.
Finally, Good Luck!