trains

France bans short-haul flights where trains are available

France — Link

Only three routes have been discontinued: those linking Paris-Orly airport to the cities of Bordeaux, Nantes and Lyon, while connecting flights will be unaffected. 

How France's postal service has failed to deliver on cutting CO2 emissions

France — Investigation

In its public utterances France's portal service La Poste makes great play of its “carbon neutrality”. Yet an analysis shows that over the last decade and a half the publicly-owned postal group has been emitting more and more carbon dioxide each year transporting letters and parcels. The reason for this is the operator's complete reliance on using the most polluting forms of transport – air and road – to carry the mail. Mediapart's environment correspondent Jade Lindgaard reports.

Train passengers stranded as southern France wildfires halt services

France — Link

Thousands of passengers were forced to sleep in their trains overnight Saturday after rail services linking Marseille and Nice were halted as a  precautionary measure when weekend wildfires, which left three firefighters and an elderly woman in need of medical treatment, surrounded tracks.

French government buys fast trains for slow tracks to save factory

France — Link

Ministers announce order for 15 high-speed trains, mostly for tracks on which they cannot run at top speed, to preserve jobs at Alstom plant.

French train stations now dispense short stories

France — Link

Idea for free short story vending machines was trialled a year ago in Grenoble train station, and will now be rolled out across more stations.

France braced for transport sector chaos amid unfolding strike action

France — Link

Trades union protests against labour law reforms, along with separate pay demands, will this week see widespread rail and air transport strikes.

France waves au revoir to overnight sleeper trains

France — Link

State-run SNCF will axe all but three overnight train services from Paris as of July 1st for reasons of cost.

Severe disruption expected as French rail workers strike

France — Link

Train operators SNCF say only half of high-speed TGV services set to run on Tuesday in latest all-day stoppage over pay and conditions.

Migrants disrupt trains as they try to enter Channel Tunnel

France — Link

About 200 migrants clashed with staff and police as they tried to get into the tunnel on the French side, forcing suspension of rail services.

French railways order 2,000 trains which are too wide for platforms

France — Link

French transport minister blamed an 'absurd rail system' for the problem, referring to changes made by a previous government in 1997.

Fare dodging: France's national sport

France — Link

French transport authorities torn over whether to order genuine crackdown or simply give up the fight and make all public transport free of charge.

Al Qaeda 'targeting European rail network'

International — Link

Leaked report published in German newspaper says terror group has been plotting attacks on high-speed railways across the continent.

New Air France fares target bag-free travellers

France — Link

French carrier says one-way "MiNi" tickets will start at 49 euros including tax for the 40 percent of people who travel without checked baggage.

Cash-strapped France may halt high-speed train expansion

France — Link

France may abandon plans for a major extension of its high-speed train network as the new left-wing government strives to shrink its huge debt.