SNCF Voyageurs had a rather “positive” summer, helped by the Olympic Games which boosted the number of passengers on its trains in August after a month of July which was less good than in 2023.
“It was a positive but atypical summer,” SNCF Voyageurs CEO Christophe Fanichet told AFP, describing the diametrically opposed months of July and August experienced by his railway company.
In July, attendance was down compared to 2023 due to several phenomena: the absence of a July 14 bank holiday (which fell on a Sunday this year), gloomy weather, an unstable political climate and the sabotage of high-speed lines on Friday, July 26, on the eve of the company’s biggest summer travel weekend.
SNCF Voyageurs, which was supposed to transport 800,000 people that weekend, was finally able to transport 700,000 and reestablished connections faster than expected. An “admirable” performance, praised the president of the National Federation of Transport User Associations (Fnaut), François Delétraz.
“It cost the company several million euros,” Christophe Fanichet nevertheless stressed.
SNCF Voyageurs was then able to count on an excellent month of August to make up for a gloomy July and ultimately record a slightly better summer than in 2023.
– Success of the Alps –
The company transported 24 million people by TGV and Intercités (+1%) and attendance increased by 4% during the Olympic Games period (July 26 to August 11).
Some destinations took full advantage of the Olympic effect, such as Lille, where the basketball and handball events were taking place, which welcomed 67% more travelers.
Regarding preferred destinations, international connections were once again very successful with six million passengers transported, as in 2023.
Travelers also favored the Mediterranean and the Atlantic coast. The Alps drove growth thanks to a 15% increase in attendance.
Read more
The night train was also a great success with 240,000 customers (excluding international), i.e. more than 10% more than in 2023 but with an additional line, between Paris and Aurillac.
The night train between Paris and Berlin has been suspended since August 12 and will not reopen until October 26, due to major works on the railway infrastructure, highlighting the difficulties of operating this mode of transport.
This summer, SNCF Voyageurs offered 450,000 additional tickets compared to 2023 by deploying all of its nearly 800 TGV and Intercités trains, with an occupancy rate comparable to last summer (84%).
– Boom du TER –
“The appetite for trains” also affected TERs, stressed Christophe Fanichet, since ridership jumped by 10% from one year to the next.
Regional trains have “undoubtedly benefited from a boost thanks to the rail pass”, said Christophe Fanichet.
The latter allowed more than 230,000 young people aged 16 to 27 to use the TER and Intercités lines without limits this summer in exchange for a subscription costing 49 euros per month.
While the government was hoping to sell 700,000, Christophe Fanichet preferred to insist on the fact that three times more had been sold than in 2021, when the SNCF offered a pass with similar features.
More than 2.4 million journeys were made thanks to this system, a figure which should be put into perspective in light of the 1.3 million journeys made every day by TER.
“The big advantage is that for the first time, the regions have talked to each other and accepted a national reduction card,” rejoiced François Delétraz of the Fnaut.
He hopes to see the experience repeated next year “and even that it be extended to the whole year and that it is not only aimed at young people, but also at seniors and families.”
agu/jum/nth
