François Sauvadet also supports the return of the Dijon TGV line
François Sauvadet also supports the return of the Dijon – Lille TGV line
Credit: Photo archive / Philippe Gillet
Below, the wish pronounced this Monday by François Sauvadet during the session of the departmental council of the Côte d’Or:
Since the health crisis of 2020, no more TGV runs on the line Mulhouse – Lille, via Dijon and Montbard. SNCF’s decision to renew the suspension of this line once again, until 2024, is unacceptable. It harms all the inhabitants of Côte-d’Or, employees, students, local businesses and tourists wishing to discover the riches of our beautiful department.
In order to justify this choice, and far from its public service concerns, the SNCF justifies its commercial strategy by the chronic reduction in the number of passengers on this line and a lack of profitability. However, in 2021, TGV attendance is on the rise again. In the SNCF station of Montbard, in particular, on the account of this year 106,970 passengers; i.e. an increase of 45% compared to 2020 (73,835 travellers). For the year 2022, this attendance is estimated between 125,000 and 130,000 travellers. This TGV line is vital to support our territory, our businesses and our attractiveness. Above all, it allows travelers and companies that export to be in direct contact with Europe via Lille and with the whole world via Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport. In addition, this link also contributes to the essential objectives of ecological transition and allows a European rail network. Local businesses, whose economic influence is international, are strongly impacted by this suspension.
The departmental councilors of the Côte-d’Or ask the CEO of the SNCF to restore the TGV line Mulhouse – Lille, passing through Dijon and Montbard. He is asked to reconsider this choice, which affects everyone’s access to a local public service. The departmental councilors of the Côte-d’Or also call on the Government to support the restoration of this TGV line in the name of balance and the principle of territorial equity.