Taking line 1 on Wednesday evening was clearly anything but smooth. On September 16, around 5:30 p.m., an issue with the metro's automatic pilot system caused a major traffic disruption between CHU – Eurasanté and Villeneuve-d'Ascq Town Hall. In total, 14 stations were left unserved and several trains were stranded. The situation continued the next day in a different form.
Passengers stuck in the metro until 1:30 a.m.
What happened inside the trains is what really stuck with people. Several witness accounts collected after the incident describe passengers trapped in their cars for long stretches, sometimes until 1:30 a.m., before having to walk to a station along the tracks. Some commuters also reported waiting a long time before getting a response through the SOS systems. Images and testimonies shared on social media quickly gained traction.
scope. The MEL itself deemed these scenes "particularly concerning," citing travelers who, in several situations, did not have sufficiently clear information about traffic, alternative solutions, or their way home.Voir cette publication sur Instagram
But what exactly happened on Line 1?
Officially, the interruption was announced due to a "autopilot malfunction". The precise technical causes have yet to be made public. According to MobiLille's information, the new trains apparently generated false location loss defects. The specialized media draws a connection to a new version of the autopilot software provided by Alstom just days earlier. This lead has also been mentioned by TransportMEL, which clarifies that it comes from internal information and that it has not, at this stage, been officially confirmed as the definitive cause of the incident. On Thursday, September 17th, disruptions continued, this time between Pont-de-Bois and 4 Cantons – Stade Pierre-Mauroy, with shuttle buses put in place. The older trains meanwhile continued to cito operate on part of the line.
Ilévia and Alstom summoned by the MEL
Faced with the scale of the incident, the European Metropolis of Lille decided to take a firmer stance. Its president Éric Skyronka summoned on Friday, September 18 the representatives of Keolis Lille ilévia and Alstom in order to obtain explanations about the origin of the breakdowns, but also about the way passengers were informed and assisted. The MEL is notably demanding the precise identification of any technical or organizational malfunctions, the immediate measures taken to make the line more reliable and an action plan designed to prevent such an episode from happening again. Real-time information, station announcements, passenger guidance and team coordination in case of crisis are also under scrutiny. A warning that comes as the network is undergoing major modernization with the gradual deployment of new trains on line 1.
Since then, the metro is running normally again
Good news anyway for those planning to take the metro this weekend: after nearly two days of disruptions, traffic resumed on the entire line 1 on Friday, September 18th at dawn. At 5:46 AM, Ilévia announced a return to normal service across the entire line. What remains to be determined now is exactly what caused this major breakdown and, more importantly, what measures will be taken to prevent another evening of chaos underground. The MEL has already warned that it expects corrective measures and a precise timeline for their implementation.