Competition for the Nantes-Bordeaux and Nantes-Lyon railway lines relaunched
Will the Nantes-Lyon and Nantes-Bordeaux lines escape SNCF? The State relaunched the competition for Intercity trains on these two lines on Friday, which it had interrupted at the end of 2020 when SNCF was the only candidate, announced the Ministry of Transport. “Due to the health crisis, the competitive bidding procedure for the award of the operating contract for these two lines could not be completed,” he explained in a press release. The government then mentioned the “economic difficulties encountered by the railways following the health crisis” and “the absence of a reliable prospect of resumption of traffic”, two factors judged according to him “fair and equitable competition”, likely to “guarantee the best service to the user at the best price”.
A planned time, the operators Arriva (Deutsche Bahn group), EuroRail and Transdev had decided not to present offers, abandoned the SNCF alone in progress. The new version of the call for tenders now provides “that the candidates propose an optional offer for the development of a link between Nantes and Lille” which would pass through Angers, Le Mans, Caen, Rouen and Amiens, specified the ministry on Friday. This new line will be integrated, or not, “depending on the result of the offers received”, he added. “The start of operation by the new contract holder is planned for 2027”, once the winner of the call for tenders has been designated, he envisages. The Intercités, called “territorial balance trains” (TET), are subsidized by the State, which was part of its intention to develop their network.
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Part of the lines open to competition
They must be operated by SNCF until 2031, but the agreement signed in March with the company provides that part of the lines will be gradually opened to competition by then. At the same time, several regions have already led to the opening up of their TERs to competition, organized as for the Intercités by the 2018 railway law. The Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur region has already awarded two “lots” after having passed tenders, Paris-Toulon-Nice to Transdev and the Nice star to the SNCF. The procedures, more or less advanced, are underway in the Grand Est, Hauts-de-France, Ile-de-France, Pays-de-la-Loire and Bourgogne-France-Comté.
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