FRENCH MINISTERS RUGY & BORNE OF ECOLOGY & TRANSPORTS GIVE GUIDELINES

USPA NEWS - Faced with the heat wave that the country is facing, François de Rugy, Minister of State, Minister of Ecological Transition and Solidarity, and Elisabeth Borne, Minister for Transport, called all transport operators to the most great vigilance and mobilization, in connection with the local authorities which are the transport authorities. Ministers keep themselves informed in real time of the evolution of the situation. During their travels, the French can be particularly exposed to heat spikes. Employers and employees are therefore encouraged to adjust working hours to avoid congestion or to facilitate the use of teleworking.All transport operators are also mobilized to face the situation, provide the best possible service and assistance to travelers. French Railways SNCF has thus activated its "hot weather" plan, which may have consequences on the operation of trains and the rail network.

All transport operators are also mobilized to face the situation, provide the best possible service and assistance to travelers. SNCF has thus activated its "hot weather" plan, which may have consequences on the operation of trains and the rail network. This plan covers both:---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - The care of travelers. The refueling of the stations is reinforced in particular: 450,000 bottles of water are available in stock, distributed in 200 stations, which can be distributed in case of need and mobilized in case of incident. A dedicated software has been developed to monitor in real time the status of the water stocks of each station and to prevent any stock outage. A leaflet on good behaviors to be adopted is also disseminated: hydrate, get informed before the trip and know the means of alerting in case of discomfort of a traveler. - Train preparation. The activity of maintenance technicentres is reinforced and stocks of safety articles called "hot period" are provided, with a priority given to the parts related to the cooling of the main organs of the train (motors, transformers). Particular vigilance is also given to the proper functioning of electrical cabinets and their fans. - Infrastructure monitoring. The agents in charge of the maintenance of the tracks and the catenaries are mobilized to supervise the installations. These surveillance tours are conducted on foot, mainly at the time of the day when the temperatures are the highest. In case of equipment failure, the agents are ready to take the appropriate security measures.   Similar measures are also taken by RATP: - Travelers are made aware of good behavior through the dissemination of prevention messages on screens and by sound. Bottle distribution operations will be conducted throughout the week, with 5,000 bottles per distribution point. Some civil security personnel are also positioned on certain points of the RER B during peak hours, as part of the action plan launched with SNCF and Ile-de-France Mobilités. - The preventive actions and campaigns of verification of the refrigerated ventilation in the trains were carried out as of last week. The RERs are also parked during the day under tension in order to maintain the refrigerated ventilation for the trains benefiting from it. - Daily monitoring is put in place to monitor the condition of catenaries and tracks, with several daily readings of the rail temperature. -Finally, since 2018, the 15,000 machinists of the group can favor a more practical and comfortable outfit during hot weather.  

AS FOR THE ROAD NETWORK THE STATE SERVICES ARE MOBILIZED TO ENSURE THE SAFETY------------------- Regarding the road network, the State services are mobilized to ensure the safety of motorists: - Awareness messages for good behavior are relayed on variable message signs as well as in Bison Futé communications. - The agents of the interdepartmental directorates of the roads of the ministry, who intervene daily on the national road network not conceded, will be able to work in staggered hours to take account of the peaks of heat. - Highway concession companies were asked to distribute bottled water in the event of congestion at tolls during the hottest hours, to reinforce the amount of water available on the service areas, and to equip the patrollers and agents in intervention of bottles of water to be able to distribute them to the vehicles in breakdown. Finally, the ministers decided, in conjunction with the police chief, to set up a new traffic control system in Paris during pollution episodes. It aims at triggering automatically differentiated circulation measures in the event of peak pollution (reaching the alert threshold, or exceeding for at least two days the threshold of information and recommendation). They also ask that such automaticity be implemented in all major French cities facing the risk of pollution in connection with local elected representatives. Throughout the duration of the heat wave, the Ministerial Unit for Operational Monitoring and Warning (CMVOA) of the Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition will monitor all possible incidents in the transport networks to ensure their good management as soon as possible. Source : French Ministries of Ecology and Transport)