Sabotage, absence of the July 14 bridge, bad weather… The railway company suffered at the start of the summer season. But buoyed by the Olympic Games and a very good month of August, it transported 1% more passengers than in 2023.
A summer “positive but atypical”. SNCF Voyageurs transported more than 24 million people by TGV and Intercités in July and August, a slight increase (+1%) compared to summer 2023, despite a month of July less good than last year, the company announced this Saturday, September 7. “The appetite for trains is still there”noted the CEO of SNCF Voyageurs, Christophe Fanichet. But “We didn’t see travelers at all like in previous years. July was rather sluggish and August was much better than in 2023.”
During the Olympic Games period (July 26 to August 11), SNCF Voyageurs saw its train ridership increase by 4% compared to 2023. 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 passengers. SNCF, which offered 450,000 more seats compared to last summer, recorded an occupancy rate comparable to 2023 (84%).
The impact of sabotage
Several reasons explain the less dynamic month of July, according to SNCF Voyageurs: 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 weekend of travel. “There were 800,000 people who were supposed to leave, we made 700,000 leave”recalled Christophe Fanichet, saluting the work of the SNCF group teams who restored traffic before the date initially planned. “It cost the company several million euros”he stressed.
Regarding preferred destinations, international connections were once again very successful with 6 million passengers transported, as in 2023. Passengers also favored the Mediterranean and the Atlantic coast. The Alps drove growth thanks to a 15% increase in passenger numbers. Finally, the success of the TER is confirmed with a 10% increase in passenger numbers from one summer to the next, benefiting “without a doubt a boost thanks to the rail pass »said Christophe Fanichet.
