When the clock strikes midnight and the Gregorian calendar flips to zeroes this New Year's Eve, where will you be?
If you're in France, chances are you won't be traveling on a train.
The French state railway system, SNCF, is hoping to allay fears of a Y2K disaster by stopping all trains for about 20 minutes around midnight on 31 December. Railway officials said they want to keep panic among passengers to a minimum.
"We have no technical worries about the functioning of the railway on the night of December 31st," said Thierry Mignaud, the official in charge of the railway's Y2K planning. "There is a psychological aspect which we must take into account."
Despite spending three years and the equivalent of US$49 million making the system Y2K-ready, French authorities are taking no chances on New Year's Eve. And they're not alone.
Across the Atlantic, most major US cities are also taking extra precautions with their transportation systems and planning for the possibility of Y2K chaos.
In Atlanta, officials decided to push the annual Peach Bowl college football game back to 30 December to avoid putting additional pressure on MARTA, the city's regional transit system, on New Year's Eve.
With many of the 72,000-plus spectators expected to use city transit, officials though it best not to hold the game with Y2K looming, said MARTA spokesman Bobby Harper.
MARTA officials are also working with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency to develop plans for any crisis that might occur on New Year's Day, or beyond.
But aside from that annoying Y2K thing, MARTA is expected to function normally, Harper said. "We expect no problems whatsoever. We're going to have full service on the night of Y2K."
In San Francisco, where scads of revelers clog streets and public transit each year, major Y2K preventative measures are underway. The San Francisco Municipal Railway, or Muni, plans to remove all of its cable cars from service at around 8 p.m., and replace all electric trolley buses with diesel coaches by 11:45 p.m.
"We expect 1 or 2 million people to pack the streets that night," said Muni spokeswoman Christiana Hyashi. "If the power goes down, we don’t want all the electric vehicles stranded on the street.
"San Francisco is always a big party spot and we have to make sure that everyone is taken care of properly."
In Boston, transportation officials said they have no plans to curtail or change their regular New Year's Eve operations, which, for most riders, is a blessing.
"It's one of the busiest nights for us," said Joe Pesatoro, spokesman for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. "It’s the only night of the year when everything -- buses, commuter rail, and subway service -- are free."
Still, Boston has been testing its system for possible Y2K glitches. "We've been getting ready for the transition to the year 2000, and we're pretty confident that all systems are go for the change."
New York City, too, plans to run its regular service on New Year's Eve.
"We're going to have technical people available for all of the lines, in case of problems," said Tom Kelly, spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
But there won't be anything elaborate prepared in the event of subterranean mayhem, Kelly said. "If you're going to panic, counselors aren't going to be able to help you."
