Along with the Depression of the 1930s came increased competition from buses and the Métro. Passenger numbers decreased by half, and the CF de l'Est attempted to close the line. Permission for this was refused but the section between Brie-Comte-Robert and Verneuil-l'Etang was closed to passengers in 1939, though it was temporarily revived during and for a while after the Second World War. In 1945, the "Gare de la Bastille" became for a few months what it had originally been intended to be, a main line terminus or "Gare des Grande Lignes". This followed the wartime destruction of a viaduct at Nogent-sur-Marne that had cut the main line from the "Gare de l'Est" to Mulhouse so long-distance trains were diverted to Bastille. In 1953, the "Ligne de Vincennes" closed to passengers beyond Boissy-Saint-Léger.