Holiday travel chaos: Over 1200 kilometers of traffic congestion documented during Saturday morning peak hours
On Saturday, August 9, 2020, France experienced a busy weekend for travel as the country headed towards its summer holidays. The high temperatures of the day, however, caused some disruptions, with SNCF cancelling several round trips on the Bordeaux-Marseille and Paris-Clermont lines, and Bison Futé warning of traffic congestion on various highways.
SNCF's cancellations were a result of potential air conditioning failures in their oldest trains, a problem they anticipate due to the high temperatures. All affected customers were offered the option for a refund and free ticket exchange. Unfortunately, SNCF has not specified the exact number of canceled trips.
The traffic jams recorded on the roads were significant. On the A9 towards the Mediterranean, approximately 145 km of traffic congestion was recorded, while on the A10, leading to the Atlantic coast, 63 km of slowdowns were recorded at around noon. Bison Futé recorded over 1,200 km of traffic jams on various highways at around 11:30 AM.
Bison Futé warned that the direction of departures in the Grand West, the North, and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, as well as in the South West in the direction of returns, would be very difficult on Saturday, August 9.
In terms of typical trends, the busiest road routes during August weekends in France are generally on the Mediterranean corridor, particularly highways A7, A8, and A9, routes in the Rhône Valley and towards the Côte d'Azur, and access points such as the Mont-Blanc tunnel. For rail routes, SNCF traditionally sees the busiest traffic on lines connecting major cities to popular holiday regions like the French Riviera and the southern France coast during August departures and returns.
However, the search results do not provide explicit information on the busiest road and rail routes during the second weekend of August 2020. If you need verified statistics specifically for August 2020, checking Bison Futé and SNCF archives or specialized transport reports from that year would be necessary.
The weather's high temperatures on August 9, 2020, impacted the travel lifestyle in France, causing SNCF to cancel several round trips due to potential air conditioning failures in older trains. Additionally, heavy traffic congestion was recorded on various highways, particularly on the A9 towards the Mediterranean and the A10, leading to the Atlantic coast.
