It's done. This must now be confirmed in practice. Since Sunday, on the Côte d'Azur, the transport offer has increased by 75% with a train running every quarter of an hour, and even until two in the morning during the night from Saturday to Sunday , between Cannes, Nice, Monaco and Menton.
“A revolution” in two ways recognizes the Southern Region which was made possible “by the opening to competition of French railway lines, with the new operator, which remains a private subsidiary of SNCF, Sud Azur”. This is the company that was selected following a call for tenders.
“We wanted to make the new transport plan coincide with the takeover of the new private operator who will operate the entire TER network around Nice (on the Côte d’Azur, editor’s note)“, explains Jean-Pierre Serrus, vice-president of the Region in charge of transport. And to add that the South Region is “pioneering territory, resolutely focused on improving the mobility of its inhabitants. In this area, this will make it possible to increase the transport offer by 75%. This meets a real need because the train is increasingly establishing itself as the backbone of new modes of travel. On this star of Nice, between Nice and Menton, Cannes and Grasse and Nice, Breil and Tende, there are 60,000 users per day who choose the train to get around. It is the busiest line in France outside the Ile de France.”
More trains, fewer delays, more comfortable trains
Concretely, every day, on the Cannes-Nice-Menton axis, the new offer offers a train every 15 minutes from 5:45 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Hours which are extended into the night from Saturday to Sunday with a terminus until 2 a.m. This Monday morning, we still had to wipe out a few plasters with a few delays, “while the machine is set up” reassures Jean-Pierre Serrus who was present on the platforms at Nice station to witness this “revolution”.
The opening to competition on Nice territory is also two TER per hour all day between Nice and Drap, 1 TER per hour all day between Drap and Breil, compared to 1 TER per hour only during peak hours, morning and evening, before. Between Cannes and Grasse, 2 TER per hour are offered all day long, previously it was only during rush hour. And between Les Arcs and Cannes, 2 TER per hour during rush hour and 1 TER per hour the rest of the day, previously there was 1 TER every two hours and 1 TER during rush hour.
The frequency of trains is therefore increased on the Côte d'Azur. Also with better regularity and fewer delays. As part of this new transport plan, the Region promises “98% of trains on time for better punctuality and reliability, in exceptional cases”. As a reminder, in 2023, the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region was in last place in the TER punctuality ranking in France, with only 84.7% of trains on time.
Added to this is a renovation and modernization plan for the 40 trains which will be equipped with the latest technologies: 23 trains are being renovated and 40 will be renovated by 2026 at a cost of 164 million euros. Furthermore, two new trainsets are being purchased, with the participation of the Principality of Monaco, in order to double capacity during peak hours on this often tense section.
Finally, the new ultra-modern supervision and maintenance center which is based in Nice Saint-Roch now allows for better coordination. Until now, the trains went regularly to Marseille for certain maintenance operations, they will now be handled in Nice. The result is a greater rate of mobility of the trains.
Please also note that all this will have no impact on the price of the ticket and subscription. “which will not increase in 2025” announces the Region.
Unions worried
If the company Sud Azur which now operates the TER network on the Côte d'Azur remains a subsidiary of SNCF, the next stage of this opening to competition will take place within a few months, in June, with the arrival of the very first private operator in the region, Transdev, which will operate, alone, the Marseille-Nice line known as “Intervilles” Marseille-Toulon-Nice, via Les Arcs-Draguignan, Cannes and Antibes.
On the side of the railway unions – who mobilized this Sunday in front of Saint-Roch station – while we are pleased with the crowds on the trains, we fear “announcement effects” to do “la promotion” of the arrival of competition. And we denounce this opening to competition which sounds like “a beginning of dismemberment of the SNCF” with all the social consequences that this can have.