The railway company unveiled the livery (the colors of the train) of this brand new TGV this Monday and is showing some impatience with the delivery times of its partner Alstom. With a year and a half behind schedule, the manufacturer cites “production hazards”.
Important milestone this Monday for the new TGV M which appeared in the Alstom Belfort factory with its final livery, its external visual identity, such as travelers will be able to see it when the train runs commercially.
A still distant prospect. As we know, production and therefore delivery delays have accumulated: initially expected at the end of 2023, the first examples will reach the southeast not before the second half of 2025.
A real thorn in the side of the SNCF which is banking heavily on these new trains (115 have been ordered for more than 3 billion euros) to meet an ever-increasing demand from the French for trains.
“We are seriously lacking trains,” laments Christophe Fanichet, boss of SNCF Voyageurs. At the dawn of a record summer in terms of attendance, the operator knows that it will be constrained by the size of its existing fleet.
“We will not perform a miracle this summer, all the trains will be out, we will optimize the rotations which will make it possible to offer 400,000 additional seats,” he adds.
But it is at best impatience that reigns, at worst annoyance with its industrial partner Alstom, while the tests on the national network (which lead to the approval of the train) must be completed at the end of 2024.
Only 4 to 5 trainsets delivered in 2025
If there is no question of officially discussing contractual financial penalties yet, the SNCF is champing at the bit.
Especially since in 2025, only 4 to 5 new trainsets will be delivered to provide connections to the South-East (Paris-Lyon-Marseille-Nice), the busiest and most profitable line.
Worse, the increase in load will occur very gradually: 9 in 2026 and 12 in 2027 (i.e. the nominal number of annual deliveries).
“It’s urgent”, insists Christophe Fanichet, “we are impatient because the appetite for the train is there and because the competition is there”. Especially since the two existing competitors: Trenitalia and Renfe are displaying new ambitions for the French market.
The reasons for this slippage are multiple. “It’s an innovative project, we started with a blank sheet of paper,” recalls Jean-Baptiste Eymeoud, president of Alstom France. “There are therefore production hazards, this is normal for a project of this type, as are the difficulties of certain parts suppliers, the geopolitical context and the covid crisis”.
Alstom announces a ramp-up
The tests currently being carried out also reveal certain technical problems which are resolved gradually and which give rise to new full-scale tests: “it is a succession of problems and solutions”, explains Alain Krakovitch, director of TGV -Intercity. For example, we mentioned a problem identified with air conditioning. “It takes time, it doesn’t happen like that,” agrees Jean-Baptiste Eymeoud.
But for the boss of Alstom, “the tests are going well and at the same time, we are ramping up at the industrial level with the mobilization of our suppliers”.
In the Belfort factory, workers now assemble a power car (the head of the train, i.e. 40,000 parts) in two weeks before soon increasing to 9 days.
Good news also for the SNCF, the problem of the emergency battery (or plugin, which should allow the train to travel a few kilometers in the event of a power cut and to power the air conditioning, the light on board is a real value added…), designed by Saft, a subsidiary of Totalenergy, has been resolved, welcomes the SNCF.
From now on, it is estimated that the second half of 2025 for the delivery of the first copies is an absolutely must-see prospect. Because as Christophe Fanichet regrets, “we are struggling with the existing trains”.
Olivier Chicheportiche Journalist BFM Business
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