Toulouse concerned by the new contract between the State and the SNCF
A part of the routes concerned must be opened to competition in the years to. Before that, the State must sign Thursday with SNCF Voyageurs a new agreement organizing the operation of the trains of balance of the territory (TET, better known as Intercités) until 2031.
This agreement should make it possible to significantly increase the number of passengers who can be transported by the territory’s balance trains”, with a target of increasing traffic by “around 20%” in ten years, it was indicated on Wednesday. at the Ministry of Transport.
These TETs contain the structuring lines Paris-Orleans-Limoges-Toulouse, Paris-Clermont-Ferrand and Bordeaux-Marseille, the so-called “territorial development” lines Nantes-Lyon, Nantes-Bordeaux, Toulouse Hendaye and Clermont-Ferrand-Béziers, and night trains (from Paris to Briançon and Nice to the south-east, Paris to Toulouse, Rodez and Albi, Lourdes, Latour-de-Carol and Cerbère to the south-west).
>> READ ALSO: The ski resorts of the Pyrenees accessible by train from Toulouse
A Paris-Aurillac night line must be relaunched
New routes could be added by amendment to the contract before the end of 2023, such as Paris-Aurillac night train which should be relaunched at this deadline, the ministry said. Beyond that, any new TET line will have to be the subject of a call for tenders, in accordance to the Railway Reform Act of 2018.
The agreement also includes “detachable coupons” providing for the gradual opening most competitive TFWs over the next few years, by appointing a new operator who may no longer be SNCF Voyageurs.
>> READ ALSO: LGV Toulouse-Bordeaux: “first trains by 2032”, announces Jean Castex
The State is looking for a new operator
The government thus intends to see a new operator taking control of the Nantes-Bordeaux and Nantes-Lyon lines at the end of 2026 – a previous call for tenders had been declared unsuccessful in 2020, for lack of an alternative candidate to the SNCF -, night trains end of 2027, from Paris-Orléans-Limoges-Toulouse and Paris-Clermont-Ferrand at the end of 2028, and Bordeaux-Marseille at the end of 2029.
As for relationships Toulouse Hendaye and Clermont-Ferrand-Béziers, “their status is not completely fixed today” and it could be transferred to the regions crossed, according to the Ministry of Transport.
The agreement runs until 2031
Concretely, all TFWs could therefore be opened up to competition or transferred to the regions before the expiry of the agreement in 2031, but this allows the State to keep a good margin of manoeuvre.
The contract provides for “a more virtuous incentive scheme” aimed at “improving the quality of service” and passenger satisfaction, according to the ministry. With more trains, more regular, cleaner, and better information for passengers in the event of a problem.
The financing requirement for the trains concerned is 1.73 billion euros over ten years”with a contribution from the State which is constant at least until 2025″, he indicated, without further details.
>> READ ALSO: The Occitanie region further amplifies the free regional train system