The line had been stopped for twenty years: the Aurillac-Paris Austerlitz night train resumed service on Sunday, December 10, 2023. A reopening as part of the revival of night trains initiated by the government and SNCF. But a glitch has tarnished the return of night trips in Cantal during the second trip aboard the Intercités de nuit 3789, on the night of Friday, December 15 to Saturday, December 16. The locomotive broke down around 10:30 p. m. at La Souterraine (Creuse). Overvoltage in the machine, indicate SNCF employees. Impossible to continue the journey.
“It’s been a while since we’ve been following the opening of this line. This is the first weekend where it’s possible to go there and back from Paris, leaving on Friday evening and returning to Paris on Monday morning, so I bought my ticket right away,” says Quentin, 24. He set off to visit his grandmother, who lives in a village near Aurillac, happy about this new possibility, like many of the passengers on board.
But after almost two hours of stopping at La Souterraine, the controller invites passengers to Brive-la-Gaillarde (Corrèze) and Aurillac to get off. Some were still sleeping in their compartment. Five coaches come to pick them up in the middle of the night. Direction Limoges or Brive-la-Gaillarde.
In Brive, a “sleeper train” awaits those who are not stopping there. No berth but a heated train parked on the platform. Agents distribute a snack, water, and pillows. Everything takes place calmly.
On the platform, everyone tries to sleep as best they can on the seats while waiting… for the night Intercités train 3789, which stayed in La Souterraine, to be brought back by another locomotive.
Shortly after 5 am, the agents pass through the car where the Aurillac passengers are dozing off: “That’s it. Your train is waiting for you across the platform.” And so, some of the passengers board the Intercités de nuit again, finding again their seat or berth left a few hours earlier. For a little over two hours of lying down.
Some regret not being able to stay on board to sleep in La Souterraine when the broken down train awaited a new locomotive: a question of safety and to avoid leaving passengers without heating.
At 7:30 am, it’s arrival in Aurillac… at the initially scheduled time! The train usually makes a long stop during the trip while the passengers sleep, so the Intercités did not take any delay despite all these ups and downs. “This night train journey was a first… It wasn’t the one we expected with all these transfers. I’m happy to have arrived in Cantal. But a little more tired than expected…” notes Quentin, while hoping that the return train on Sunday will run smoothly.
