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French train services cancelled on Wednesday after unions continue strike

The Local France
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French train services cancelled on Wednesday after unions continue strike
Railway workers demonstrate on Tuesday against a deeply unpopular pensions overhaul at Gare de Lyon train station in Paris (Photo by Sameer Al-Doumy / AFP)

Travelling by rail in France is set to remain disrupted on Wednesday, as two major unions decide to extend Tuesday's strike action again pension reforms.

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Two major unions representing rail workers announced plans on Tuesday evening to extend their strike action into Wednesday, forcing rail operators to cancel trains.

The unions CGT-Cheminots and SUD-Rail called for more walkouts in protest against the government's planned pension reform. 

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According to France's national rail service, SNCF, the strike action will lead to a delays and cancellations, with an average of two in three high-speed TGV trains continuing to run according to normal operating schedules. High-speed train operations in the east of the country will operate almost normally.

READ MORE: French protest pension reform again as unions threaten to step up action

As for other regions, two in three TGV trains in the north will run; half of trains in the west will run, and three in five trains in the south east will run.

The budget train operator Ouigo will also be affected, with two out of every three trains running on Wednesday.

The strike will also limit TER regional services to one in every two trains running, according to Franceinfo.

The SNCF website on Tuesday recommended that those who can cancel or postpone trips on Wednesday do so. If you believe your travel plans might be impacted by strike action, you can find more information at the SNCF website here.

As for the Paris region, normal services are expected on the RER A and B on Wednesday. The RER E will run two trains out of three, and half of RER C trains will run. The RER D will only have two in five trains running, and connection between Châtelet-les-Halles and Paris Gare de Lyon will be suspended.

READ MORE: 5 minutes to understand . . . French pension reform

Transilien operations may be disrupted, with the P and U lines running three out of four trains on average. Lines H, J and L will run two trains out of three. Half of the line N trains will run. Line R will run one train out of every five.

Intercité nighttime operations will not run, and daytime ones will see half of trains operational. 

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International traffic may be disrupted on Wednesday as well. The Eurostar is expected to operate normally, and Thalys will be slightly disrupted. However, Lyria will run three out of five trains. 

Rail workers will not be the only ones continuing to strike on Wednesday. Oil refinery workers had already announced their intention to continue their 72-hour industrial action into February 8th.

READ MORE: Reader question: Will fuel supplies in France be hit by pension strikes?

You can keep up to date regarding strike action in France here

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