“If the SNCF stumbles, the Olympic Games go badly, we are decisive.” It was with these words that SNCF CEO Jean-Pierre Farandou launched his press conference on Friday in the industrial setting of third place Voie 24, near Lyon station. 28 days before the start of the test, however, the boss excludes the risk of a bad scenario: “We are ready,” says the group leader enthusiastically.
SNCF has strengthened its transport offer by 15% compared to what is normally offered in summer. These are 4,500 extra trains at a rate of 300 trains per day, which will be added to regular rotations and will serve 79% of Olympic venues across the territory.
An unprecedented crowd
“On the RER C, which will connect some of the main competition venues (Parc des Princes, Saint-Quentin en Yvelines velodrome, Invalides, etc.), an additional 560 trains will run for the duration of the Games,” explains Jean-Pierre Farandou. The renovation of 34 stations, including the Gare du Nord, and the delivery of infrastructure projects, such as the extension of the RER E to Nanterre, will help to address the “major operational challenge” that this sporting event represents.
More than 24 million travelers, a third of whom are from abroad, are expected in the Paris region and the provinces. SNCF is preparing to handle unprecedented crowds. For example, the flow of travelers at Saint-Quentin en Yvelines station will increase from 3,000 to 30,000 travelers during the play period. “We carried out simulations at the station to prepare and we also rely on our expertise acquired during the Rugby World Cup in 2023”, reveals Éric Leboube, station director of Lille (North) where the basketball and handball events will take place.
“The first best souvenir for tourists”
11,000 reinforcements will arrive to support the SNCF teams to deal with this influx of travelers. Their mission will be to welcome, guide and inform spectators. Implementation of a translation application, special “Olympic Games” signage to streamline travel for travelers, strengthening security at stations, will complete the system. “Our ambition is to make the arrival at the station the first best memory of the Olympics for tourists,” confides Jean-Pierre Farandou.
For the entire system linked to the Olympic Games, a recruitment campaign has been launched at the beginning of 2023. A total of 8,400 recruitments are planned throughout 2024. Drivers, controllers, transport agent maintenance are the occupations in demand. These recruitments are coupled with “a pacified social atmosphere” since the Olympic Games agreement signed by three trade union organizations in June.
SNCF will also be present on a sporting level during these Olympic Games through its “athlete system”, created in 1982. The group currently supports around thirty athletes by offering them an employment contract that allows them to combine professional careers and high level sport. Eight athletes from this system have now qualified for the 2024 Olympics.
