New delay? Underestimated cost? The opposition in Toulouse Métropole tackles Tisséo on the 3rd metro line
Will the launch of the 3rd line of the Toulouse metro be postponed to 2030? And is Tisséo trying to underestimate the cost of the work? This is what the left opposition group “Alternative Métropole Citoyenne” from Toulouse Métropole claims. The AMC Group claims that the latest version of the financial sustainability study for the 3rd line project is not sincerethat some numbers are not good or consistent.
The opening of the 3rd line postponed?
The group is wondering in particular about the date of entry into service of the future line scheduled for the end of 2028. a graph from the latest financial sustainability study which presents a peak in Tisséo’s expenses in 2030. This movement would correspond to the costs linked to the commissioning of the line such as electricity or labor costs with the technicians, agents or security guards who will work on the C line.
The opposition also supports the latest financial study does not take into account increases in energy costs and materials. Agathe Roby is a metropolitan councilor within the group Alternative Métropole Citoyenne: “If we rely on this study, Iinflation is not taken into account, nor the increase in construction costs: the concrete will increase and we know that with the war in Ukraine and the crisis the prices have increased, but this is not taken into account and it is a problem. There are things that don’t match, the metropolis needs to explain itself. We require an independent financial audit. We are absolutely not against the third metro line, it is transport capacity that we do not call into question. On request just to put things down and think together.”
Members of the AMC group also talk about “Magic trick“: according to them, 200 million euros of planned investments in the bus network will have disappeared between the 2021 financial study and the 2022 version.
The envelope dedicated to maintenance would also have been reduced by 70 million euros for “compensate for load increases between the two studies”.
The metropolitan majority refutes the accusations
The AMC group therefore wants to request an independent financial audit. He will make the request to President Jean-Luc Moudenc during the metropolitan council on December 8. What surprises Sacha Briand, the vice-president of Toulouse Métropole in charge of finance: “This is not seriousit’s buzz: in reality, they are against the third line but do not dare to assume it. This budget sustainability study is scrutinized by the rating agency which intervenes every year to assign a rating to Tisséo as well as to Toulouse Métropole: it processes all this data. The Agency in question is Moody’s, one of the three major international agencies. This document summarizes Tisséo’s financial strategy. If it wasn’t believable, we had to shoot.“