The SNCF strike on Thursday, November 5, 2026 is taking shape line by line. The first forecasts published Tuesday evening by Transilien say that service on the RER D, which connects Paris to Essonne, Seine-et-Marne and Val-d'Oise, will be “severely disrupted.” Most of the other SNCF lines in Île-de-France are expected to be “disrupted,” while a few are due to run normally.
The meeting held on Tuesday, November 3, at SNCF headquarters in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis) did not defuse the dispute: CGT-Cheminots, UNSA-Ferroviaire, SUD-Rail and CFDT-Cheminots are sticking to their joint call on the eve of the inaugural journey of the TGV M. Details of the trains being canceled will be available from 5 p.m. on Wednesday, November 4. Here’s what we know Wednesday morning.
The RER D is expected to be hardest hit: it is the only line listed as “severely disrupted” in Transilien’s initial forecasts, posted online Tuesday at 5 p.m. Passengers in Melun, Corbeil-Essonnes and Creil would therefore be well advised to plan their journeys in advance, especially as the line has already been running a reduced service for maintenance for several weeks.
Across the rest of the SNCF network in the Île-de-France region, most RER and Transilien lines are expected to run with “disruptions.” One line is expected to see only “a few cancellations,” while several others are set to operate normally. On the RATP network, the RER A is expected to run normally, as is the RER B, which is operated jointly with SNCF.
Starting this Wednesday at 5 p.m., Transilien and SNCF Connect timetables and journey planners will include canceled trains. Now is a good time to check your journey for the next day, then check again on Thursday morning before setting off.
Evening works further complicate matters. On weekdays, the RER B is suspended from 10:45 p.m. between Châtelet-Les Halles and the branches to Mitry-Claye and Charles de Gaulle Airport, as detailed in our roundup of transport disruptions for the week of November 2 to 8, 2026. On Thursday evening, Metro line 7bis will also be closed in its entirety from 10 p.m. to prepare for the arrival of MF19 trains, according to Bonjour RATP.
Paris’s six major train stations are being monitored: Gare du Nord and Gare de l’Est in the 10th arrondissement, Gare de Lyon and Gare d’Austerlitz in the 12th and 13th, Gare Montparnasse in the 15th, and Gare Saint-Lazare in the 8th.
Broadly speaking, SNCF says traffic will be “slightly disrupted on TGV services and disrupted on Intercités and TER services,” according to its statement, as reported by Europe 1. Passengers who provided their contact details when booking will be notified by text message or email if their train is canceled or rescheduled.
The day is expected to be less difficult than during the unified strike on June 10, 2026, which led to one in three TGV high-speed trains and one in two Intercités services being canceled, La Gazette France notes. It is the everyday trains that are likely to bear the brunt.
Good news for travel in Paris: the RATP expects normal service on its metro, tram and bus networks this Thursday, according to franceinfo. No strike notice specifically for November 5 has been filed for these networks.
However, an open-ended strike notice filed by the CGT-RATP in late September allows employees who wish to do so to stop work, TourMaG reports. The metro remains the safest fallback option, although lines connecting with disrupted RER services may be crowded, particularly at Gare de Lyon and Châtelet-Les Halles.
Air travel is also affected. Several unions at the French Civil Aviation Authority and SUD Aérien, which represents ground staff in particular, are calling a strike on Thursday. The DGAC is due to tell airlines on Wednesday whether they need to cut their flight schedules. Getting to Charles de Gaulle Airport is also complicated by disruption on the RER B.
We take a closer look at the situation at the two Paris airports in our article on the November 5 airport strike.
In the capital, the day will bring both fewer trains and a large cross-industry march. The inter-union group has called for a route between Place de la Bastille and Place de la Concorde, with the start time set for 1 p.m. or 2 p.m., depending on the organizations. The route has yet to receive the green light from the Paris police prefecture, and the inter-union group has taken the route to court, reports franceinfo. Follow the story in our article on the route of the November 5 demonstration.
The context calls for caution. On Saturday, October 31, the prefecture imposed a route on the outskirts, far from the city center, and closed around 40 metro stations. The nighttime curfew around République and Les Halles, extended for the All Saints’ Day weekend, ended on the morning of Monday, November 2. For now, there is no indication that it will be reinstated on Thursday evening.
Things remain unsettled on other fronts: high school students have once again been blockading their schools since classes resumed on November 2, and the Yellow Vests have announced a new protest for November 6 and 7. If you’re taking a train on Thursday, allow plenty of time to get to the station.
At the heart of the dispute is purchasing power. On Tuesday, the unions called for wages in 2026 to be adjusted to make up for inflation, AFP reported, as cited by Boursorama. The 2026 pay agreement provided for a general increase of 0.5%, based on estimated inflation of 1.3%. According to INSEE, prices ultimately rose by 3.4% year on year in October.
UNSA-Ferroviaire is therefore calling for a 2.6% across-the-board pay rise, retroactive to July 1. Management, for its part, described the meeting as merely a “progress update,” with salary negotiations for 2027 scheduled for January.
In their joint statement on October 15, CGT-Cheminots, UNSA-Ferroviaire, SUD-Rail and CFDT-Cheminots are also calling for a substantial increase in work bonuses, a revamp of the residence allowance and a 13th-month payment for all, reports Dijon Actualités. Beyond paychecks, the unions are denouncing staff shortages and the effects of opening the sector to competition.
On Friday, November 6, the TGV M is scheduled to make its maiden journey between Paris-Gare-de-Lyon (12th arrondissement) and Marseille-Saint-Charles. The double-decker train, built by Alstom, can carry up to 740 passengers per trainset. Its entry into service has been postponed several times since the Paris 2024 Games, Made in Marseille reports.
The timing is no coincidence for the unions, who are making the most of the spotlight on SNCF. At this stage, there is nothing to suggest that travel will be disrupted the following day.
Wednesday evening is the key moment: once the forecasts are published at 5 p.m., you’ll know whether your train is among those still running. Check your journey on SNCF Connect for long-distance services, or on the Transilien website for trains in the Île-de-France region, and turn on notifications for your line.
If a train is cancelled, a TGV INOUI or Intercités ticket can be exchanged or refunded free of charge when exceptional measures are in place. Refunds are not always automatic: sometimes you need to cancel your trip yourself in your customer account. If your journey includes a TER connection, it’s best to check each train separately.
For daily commutes, working from home or setting off later can help avoid a lot of hassle. Our Paris metro, RER and train traffic update, refreshed daily, lists announced disruptions. For updates throughout the rest of the day, including schools, our full article on the November 5 general strike is updated as announcements come in.
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