I was in Paris for the Rugby World Cup last weekend. The extortionate price of flights to Paris itself and the nationwide reach of the TGV network meant that flying to a western city and taking the TGV into and out of Paris was a no-brainer. Everything went smoothly on Saturday and I was in Paris for lunch barely two hours after leaving Nantes. The Irish victory over the Springboks was the icing on the cake 
Things weren't so great on Sunday, though. There was a power failure on the LGV Atlantique at Massy, with a train getting stuck mid-section. Although the fault was eventually repaired, the passengers on the stuck train had to be de-trained which took a considerable length of time. The fault occurred at 12.20 and the line was blocked until approximately 18.30. Trains to Brittany (eg Quimper and Nantes) were diverted via the classic line while destinations further south were cancelled outright until the 16.06 to Bordeaux finally left at about 18.25.
I was booked on the 17.06 to Bordeaux, which was estimated to leave at 19.06. This was great (for me) but by this time Montparnasse was seriously overcrowded. When the platforms were finally called there was a scrum to get to the concourse and through there onto the platforms. The photo below (taken about 30 mins before departure, and before the platforms were called) gives you an idea of the obstacle facing anyone trying to reach the platforms (to the right of the photo). It got much worse once the platforms were called!
It took about 20 minutes to get from the entrance of the concourse to just outside the ticket barriers. Things got quite dangerous when the platform display announced the imminent departure of the train while most of the intending passengers were stuck on the concourse while their train was in sight but just out of reach due to the press of people. Thankfully the press never became a crush, though it came pretty close, and our party all managed to get on the train. The train (2x duplex sets) finally left at about 19.20 with what seemed like a full complement of passengers.
While the SNCF website was excellent at keeping everyone updated during the repair and rescue process (hourly updates with photos of the operation as it unfolded), the handling of the crowds at Montparnasse was farcical to the point of being dangerous. They allowed the concourse to be filled with people hanging around (and sitting around on the floor!) waiting for updates, which ultimately blocked access to platforms for those trying to reach the trains when they eventually started running again. You then had people desperate to reach trains shoving through crowds of people hanging around waiting for information on their situation. There was no evidence of staff on the ground to manage the incident as it unfolded.
I'm curious to hear how this situation would have been handled in other large cities. Would access to the station have been regulated? Would a six-hour line blockage on a major high speed line have triggered some sort of emergency plan or a queuing system implemented?
Things weren't so great on Sunday, though. There was a power failure on the LGV Atlantique at Massy, with a train getting stuck mid-section. Although the fault was eventually repaired, the passengers on the stuck train had to be de-trained which took a considerable length of time. The fault occurred at 12.20 and the line was blocked until approximately 18.30. Trains to Brittany (eg Quimper and Nantes) were diverted via the classic line while destinations further south were cancelled outright until the 16.06 to Bordeaux finally left at about 18.25.
I was booked on the 17.06 to Bordeaux, which was estimated to leave at 19.06. This was great (for me) but by this time Montparnasse was seriously overcrowded. When the platforms were finally called there was a scrum to get to the concourse and through there onto the platforms. The photo below (taken about 30 mins before departure, and before the platforms were called) gives you an idea of the obstacle facing anyone trying to reach the platforms (to the right of the photo). It got much worse once the platforms were called!
It took about 20 minutes to get from the entrance of the concourse to just outside the ticket barriers. Things got quite dangerous when the platform display announced the imminent departure of the train while most of the intending passengers were stuck on the concourse while their train was in sight but just out of reach due to the press of people. Thankfully the press never became a crush, though it came pretty close, and our party all managed to get on the train. The train (2x duplex sets) finally left at about 19.20 with what seemed like a full complement of passengers.
While the SNCF website was excellent at keeping everyone updated during the repair and rescue process (hourly updates with photos of the operation as it unfolded), the handling of the crowds at Montparnasse was farcical to the point of being dangerous. They allowed the concourse to be filled with people hanging around (and sitting around on the floor!) waiting for updates, which ultimately blocked access to platforms for those trying to reach the trains when they eventually started running again. You then had people desperate to reach trains shoving through crowds of people hanging around waiting for information on their situation. There was no evidence of staff on the ground to manage the incident as it unfolded.
I'm curious to hear how this situation would have been handled in other large cities. Would access to the station have been regulated? Would a six-hour line blockage on a major high speed line have triggered some sort of emergency plan or a queuing system implemented?
