There is something new for the RER A: the line has benefited from a new management center since January. Managed jointly by the RATP and the SNCF, the line has been equipped to better respond to daily problems, on the eve of the Olympics.
Ensuring the management of the RER A is a daily challenge: the line is the most used in Europe, with 1.3 million travelers per day. Despite everything, the RER’s performance is “ exceptional », affirm the managers: the line benefits from 93% punctuality on average over 2023, with a peak of 95% in February 2024. It is to maintain these scores, and improve them, that the new center was designed.
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The RER A is modernizing to better manage incidents
In the huge main room of the CCU, a gigantic screen keeps agents informed of the status of the line in real time. Lights flash, cameras continuously film the platforms, trains arrive and leave stations… All this activity is constantly monitored by agents. When an incident occurs, this is where the orders are given.
When an accident is spotted, whether it's a forgotten bag or people on the tracks, drivers issue alerts to the nearest referral center, which relays them to the CCU. This is where decisions are made on what to do, based on scenarios defined in advance. There are as many as all the possibilities of an incident.
The new CCU opened in January 2024 and has the enormous advantage of bringing together the RATP and SNCF teams, which manage the line in parallel. “ We have much better communication between teams with the new room », Indicates Thomas Barrois. “ We are already seeing an improvement » in terms of communication with passengers, he assures.
It must be said that before, everything was managed from a much older control room. Forget the large LED panels or the real-time display of security cameras: everything was done from a room opened in 1992.
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