SNCF Issues Special Alert for Lourdes Trains Amid Papal Crowds

France’s open-data GTFS-RT feed shows a rare ‘event-related’ alert covering 24-26 September for Intercités and TER services to Lourdes, warning of “higher than usual passenger density” linked to Pope Leo XIV’s visit. The alert, active until 23:59 on 27 September, urges travellers to “anticipate this affluence in your itineraries,” and appears alongside routine engineering notices. Affected routes include Toulouse–Tarbes–Lourdes and Bordeaux–Pau, both popular with corporate travellers heading to aerospace suppliers in the southwest. On Saturday some services reached 140 % of standard capacity, forcing rail staff to request that non-essential luggage be off-loaded to station lockers. Unlike ticketed sports events, the pilgrimage surge is difficult to model because many groups travel with open tickets. SNCF therefore added two round-trip TER sets composed of older Corail coaches reactivated from storage—a reminder that rolling-stock flexibility remains key to event mobility. Companies relocating staff or equipment through the region should consider road or air freight alternatives until flows normalise on Monday. The alert also serves as a test case for how real-time open data can flag exceptional crowding, enabling mobility platforms to push proactive notifications to end-users.