On the wall, maps of the Paris regional network, cameras filming strategic points in the station, and a schedule of departures and arrivals. In the small room of the Paris Gare du Nord crisis center on the morning of Monday August 14, the team is refocused around Pascal Geiger, territorial operations manager at SNCF Réseau.

Their objective is to assess the situation with Transport Minister Clément Beaune, following the closure of the RER B commuter rail line between Gare du Nord and Aulnay-sous-Bois (Seine-Saint-Denis) and Gare du Nord and Mitry-Claye (Seine-et-Marne) since Saturday August 12 and until Tuesday August 15 in the morning, due to construction work.

"On the whole, everything went smoothly," emphasized Amandine Martin, general secretary of Transilien SNCF Voyageurs, pointing out that the morning peak between 7 a.m. and 9.30 a.m. remained the most critical. "The evening peak − from 4.30 p.m. to 7 p.m. − is more spread out, and therefore less congested," she added.

After a tense weekend, albeit one without major incidents, the first work day, Monday, was the most anxiously anticipated on this route, which not only serves Charles-de-Gaulle airport but is also used by many so-called "essential" workers, such as hospital staff, and all the men and women who work to maintain the city and therefore of course cannot telecommute.

Of the 600 buses and 1,000 additional drivers mobilized over the three days, half of the reinforcements were deployed on Monday alone. "In Aulnay-sous-Bois, there were a lot of people and full buses, but after the peak time, the situation calmed down again. There's a waiting time of around 10 to 15 minutes," emphasized one of the crisis unit agents, on the phone, as this Seine-Saint-Denis town was one of the critical points to be monitored.

The organizers also say they have learned from the first two days of the shutdown, during which many travelers complained about the lack of organization. "We're constantly adapting," Geiger said. At the Gare du Nord, where some tourists were still somewhat lost, the number of red vests on the platforms was tripled to help customers. The frequency of station announcements were also increased.

At Roissy, where 125,000 passengers arrived on a daily basis over the three days of construction work, the signage was reworked to make it easier for tourists to find Terminal 2F, where busses leave for the Stade de France station, and where they can join the train network by boarding the RER D. "At Charles de Gaulle, where there are no more people than there were this weekend, coaches are departing every 4 to 7 minutes," explained an agent on site. In fact, taxis were outnumbered. "At 11:30 a.m., there were 18 queues of taxis waiting," reported Yucel Karakuslik, a driver who made a trip to the airport this morning.

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