On December 14, a new crucial step in the transformation of French rail will be taken: around 1,200 SNCF railway workers will be transferred to subsidiaries of the public group, specially created to meet the challenge of opening up to competition, which arouses the anger of the unions.
In Amiens, Nice and Nantes, railway workers working for regional express trains (TER) will leave SNCF Voyageurs to join “dedicated companies”, signaling the end of the SNCF monopoly on these regional lines.
These three “lots” were won during calls for tenders organized by the regions which chose to open their TER networks to competition. Only two regions (Brittany and Occitanie) pushed this deadline as late as the law allowed, to 2030.
By then, almost all TER railway workers will be transferred either to SNCF subsidiaries or to competitors who have won the markets – such as Transdev for Nice-Marseille from 2025.
Currently, nearly 60% of the TER market is in the tender process
indicates an executive from SNCF Voyageurs. So far, five lots have been awarded (three to SNCF Voyageurs and two to Transdev).
At the end of 2021, Trenitalia was the first company to take advantage of the opening of the French high-speed market. It has since been joined by the Spanish Renfe.
Gilles Savary, member of the high railway committee, believes that competition will force the SNCF to make productivity gains and therefore lead to a drop in prices.
All modes of transport that have opened up to competition have experienced a boom
he said, citing the example of air transport with the emergence of low-cost airlines.
In the Nice region, the train supply will increase by 75% from mid-December, assures SNCF Voyageurs.
The arrival of Trenitalia on the Paris-Lyon route also made it possible to reduce prices by around 10%, according to the Transport Regulatory Authority (ART).
As for you, do you think that the opening of competition in the railway sector will bring down prices?
