Overview
- Over the May Day long weekend, Paris Gare de Lyon will stop all arrivals and departures for a signalling switchover, while the concourse stays open for Metro lines 1 and 14 and RER A.
- SNCF Réseau is replacing two aging mechanical signal boxes with computerized gear tied to the Vigneux-sur-Seine command center built in 2017.
- Most long‑distance trains will use temporary Paris endpoints, with about 60% of TGVs rerouted to Gare de l’Est, Montparnasse, Paris‑CDG, Marne‑la‑Vallée, Pont de Rungis or Versailles‑Chantiers, and TER and Intercités moved to Austerlitz.
- Commuter service will be curtailed, with no RER D trains between Gare du Nord and Juvisy or Combs‑la‑Ville and line R limited to Melun.
- Around 500 staff will have roughly 60 hours to connect and test about 1,500 devices after four years of prep work, with reopening targeted around midday on Sunday, May 3 as part of a push that readies the corridor for future systems like Nexteo.