During his speech on Europe at La Sorbonne on April 24, French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated his sentiment of accompanying France and Europe towards modernity. This call for progress was not lost on the collective of Clermont-Paris train users who seized the opportunity to request a meeting with the President. The group urged for the Paris-Clermont railway line to be modernized, citing their petition that has gathered over 12,000 signatures and calls for travel time between Paris and Clermont to be reduced to 2 hours and 30 minutes.
Commuters like Louise, who regularly take the train for work, expressed frustration over the unpredictability of travel times on the current line. The collective highlighted that it takes less time to travel to Strasbourg or Lyon, cities farther from Paris than Clermont-Ferrand. This call for improvement comes as SNCF announced delays in delivering new trains to replace outdated ones, with the first trainsets not expected until 2027.
Following a serious incident in January that left passengers stranded overnight on the train, SNCF implemented a 40 million euro emergency plan and stationed a locomotive halfway in Nevers in March. However, the collective believes that these measures do not address the overall issues with the railway line. They are hopeful for a meeting with the President to discuss ways to modernize and improve the Paris-Clermont railway line.