Overview
- Major summer engineering work on RER B and RER D began with central closures that started on July 25 and the RER B shutdown will expand from August 7 to August 16 to cover fifteen stations.
- RATP and SNCF have rolled out substitute options including shuttle buses, reinforced bus lines, alternative itineraries and free Orlyval travel with a Navigo pass to ease passenger flows.
- Commuters report severe overcrowding on replacement buses and heavy pressure on metro services, prompting sustained user anger and public complaints from elected officials.
- Saint-Denis mayor Bally Bagayoko has demanded an immediate crisis meeting and a strong commercial gesture on the Navigo pass, while Île-de-France Mobilités has asked operators to strengthen substitution and passenger information.
- Operators say the work replaces several dozen track switches and further nightly and full-day suspensions are scheduled into late August and September, which could trigger the region's existing compensation mechanism for prolonged punctuality shortfalls.