The incident of numerous passengers being trapped on underground trains in Paris has raised additional concerns regarding the city’s ability to manage large crowds during the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Following a signalling problem, individuals found themselves stranded for two hours in crowded and excessively hot trains on line four of the Parisian metro.
This incident involved five trains being immobilized since approximately 6pm. The situation worsened when a woman’s bag became lodged in a door at the Cité station, activating an alarm and causing certain trains to be unable to resume their operation due to technical difficulties.
Subsequently, the entire line 13 experienced a 90-minute halt from 8:30 pm CEST due to a computer failure. Meanwhile, a train breakdown in Seine-Saint-Denis caused further disruptions on the B and D routes of the RER.
In response to the line four incident, approximately 125 RATP workers were mobilized, and passenger evacuations commenced 40 minutes earlier.
“This is an exceptional incident because it is an accumulation of incidents that took place in a very short period of time,” said RATP rail network director Agnès Ogier, as reported by 20 Minutes.
Paris’ fire department also sent six emergency vehicles to Montparnasse, Saint-Germain-des-Près and Saint-Placide stations to facilitate the evacuation.
Paris is home to one of the oldest urban transit systems in the world but with that comes increasing complaints of overcapacity and outdated infrastructure by users.
More than 10 million visitors are expected in Paris next year for the Games which begin on July 26.
As a result, attempts are being made to expand the travel options in the city, with 37 new metro trains ordered at a cost of €1 billion (£860 million/$1 billion), which will double the number in circulation.
RATP has also launched a recruitment plan for the Games as it aims to hire more than 6,600 new employees with 4,900 of those on permanent contracts.
