Former advisor to the departing CEO Jean-Pierre Farandou, this trained engineer joined SNCF in 2008.
LA TRIBUNE SUNDAY – You have just been reappointed for four years as president of SNCF Voyageurs. With what priorities?
CHRISTOPHE FANICHET – Offer more trains, at more affordable prices. We will increase the TGV offer by 25% by 2034: 15% in France and 10% internationally. Our activity outside France already represents 30% of our turnover, with 30 million travelers per year in nine countries, mainly in cooperation. My goal is to reach the threshold of 50 million international travelers within the next ten years. It is in this context that we have just announced our arrival in Italy, on the Turin-Naples and the Milan-Venice, from 2026.
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And in France ?
The increase in supply will be based in part on an increase in the number of Ouigo trains, to 30% of the total, compared to 20% today. This will allow us to offer more attractive prices. In the regions, growth in TER has already reached 20% since the pandemic. Five million French people use regional and Ile-de-France trains daily. Young people represent 40% of new travelers.
Some lines are victims of breakdowns and recurring delays, such as those of Limoges and Clermont-Ferrand. How to cure it ?
I’am aware. We are actively working on it. These are lines that we treat with the same care as high-speed lines, by setting up crisis rooms, tracking locomotives in the event of a breakdown, or by installing fences to protect them from animals. The State is investing, with new trains which will arrive.
How will you finance the increase in the number of trains?
Through a massive investment: 5 billion euros over the next ten years. Solely from own funds, without any public subsidy. Of this envelope, 4 billion will be devoted to the purchase of trains: 115 new TGV M, 100 for France, 15 for Italy. Deliveries will begin at the end of next year. The lifespan of around a hundred current TGVs will also be extended, from four to ten years. We will thus be the only ones in the world to know how to operate TGVs for half a century in complete safety! The TERs will also be renovated on behalf of the Regions, which will allow them to circulate for twenty more years. We are also investing 1 billion euros in maintenance.
The price of train tickets has sparked multiple criticisms…
I want to do high speed for everyone. Hence the increase from 20 to 30% of Ouigo TGVs.
Are you going to recruit?
From 2021 to 2023, we have already doubled the number of recruitments per year. SNCF Voyageurs is an attractive company: 5,000 new employees will join us in 2024. I receive 250,000 applications each year.
How are you preparing for increased competition?
We won part of the first batches opened on TER in the regions. We intend to defend our colors in the 40 calls for tenders planned over the coming years. Our assets are numerous: the know-how of railway workers, our competitiveness, our capacity for innovation in commercial services, the strength of our industrial maintenance tool, which is increasingly improving thanks to AI.
What is summer like?
History! There will never have been so many places at unchanged prices. The French are changing their summer habits, opting more for the mountains, Alps or Pyrenees. And for Brittany. Travel between regions is also increasing. We therefore added 400,000 places this summer: 300,000 in the West, 100,000 towards the Alps. We have already sold 6.5 million long-distance tickets, an increase of 10% in one year. The night train is a great success: six out of ten seats have already been sold for the first weekend in July. For the first time this summer, we serve Nîmes, Montpellier-Sète and Agde.
Is everything complete?
No way ! There are still plenty of places left. Three out of four are still available, but it is better to book without delay.
What about the Olympic and Paralympic Games?
We are recording 20% additional reservations for the first half of August, or 2 million tickets already sold. The weekend crossover gives way to a daily crossover, to go see an event during the day, with 30% more movements during the week. Destinations are experiencing unprecedented popularity, like Lille with basketball, where reservations are up 300%. We are adding 4,500 trains in the Paris region at the request of Île-de-France Mobilités, or 15% more. And 300 TER in the regions, as well as a few dozen TGVs, whose schedules we will adapt to allow you to return in the evening after a sporting event. We must meet the challenge of unprecedented flows of travelers, the equivalent of three World Cups or three Beyoncé concerts in one day!
