are travelers winning?

1. More TGVs and cheaper tickets?

A wider range and lower prices. This is the promise made to travelers, since December 3, 2019 and the liberalization of rail in France, by companies wishing to compete with the SNCF. For the moment, three operators are exploiting a tempting railway cake: the French have never taken the train as much as in 2023, attendance has increased by 6% and reached a record level for the second year in a row. But the price of SNCF tickets continues to rise.

“The general problem is simple, there are too many travelers and not enough trains, particularly on main lines and during the Christmas holidays,” explains Patricia Pérennes, rail transport economist. On the routes where competition has been implemented, the first effects on ticket prices are already being felt. The arrival of Trenitalia, the Italian national company, on the Paris-Lyon line resulted in a 10% drop in prices. A Parisian who used to join her family in her country house in Beaujolais, Isabelle was quickly tempted. “By taking my ticket in advance with my children, I pay 39 euros, compared to at least 69 euros for a TGV Inoui. » Renfe customers make the same observation. The Spanish operator offers more attractive prices than those of the SNCF on its lines linking Barcelona to Lyon and Madrid to Marseille.

How do they do it? They are relying on a loss-making pricing policy and a rebate obtained on tolls to launch their first three years of activity. In France, the latter are the most expensive in Europe and represent 40% of the price of a TGV ticket – each stop at a station finances the work and maintenance of the railways. When this reduction expires, Trenitalia and Renfe will not be able to perform miracles.

“French rail transport policy requires operators to contribute a lot to maintain the rails on which they run,” notes François Delétraz, president of the National Federation of Transport User Associations (Fnaut). Sooner or later, this constraint affects tickets, competition or not.

2. Will small towns still be served?

Le Creusot, Chambéry, Bar-le-Duc… What do they have in common? The risk that the TGV will no longer stop there. A scarecrow brandished by the SNCF since the opening to competition from Renfe or Trenitalia who are rushing, for the sake of profitability, on the most lucrative connections, such as Paris-Lyon – the busiest in Europe. “Cash cow” of the SNCF, this line balances the company’s accounts by offsetting those of less busy and therefore less profitable services (Mâcon, Tarbes, Quimper, etc.). The company, owned by the State, finds itself caught in a vice. On the one hand, the government is asking it to make a profit while ensuring its public service mission in stations where it is losing money; on the other, it sees its competitors eating away at its most interesting markets, without seeing the same rules applied to them.

“Ultimately, the SNCF will seek profitability by stopping serving small stations, which are too expensive,” warns Fanny Arav, deputy general secretary of the Unsa union. We cannot blame a company that is asked to be efficient for following a commercial logic. » François Durovray, Minister Delegate for Transport, says he is vigilant in the face of this blind spot of competition for French rail. “I don’t see what they’re talking about (new entrants to the market, Editor’s note) would only focus on the most profitable services without contributing to the regional planning logic that we all share,” he declared, announcing a series of legislative proposals between now and next summer.

A fear swept aside by the SNCF’s competitors, who, in reality, are also investing in small stations. Trenitalia has announced that it will serve three intermediate cities (Valence, Avignon and Aix-en-Provence) on the Paris-Marseille line, planned for 2025. In the Grand Est, despite TGV lines deemed less profitable than those on the Mediterranean and Atlantic axes, the French start-up Kevin Speed ​​plans to deploy a low-cost offer of 20 trains linking Paris to Strasbourg, Lille and Lyon. Competition will even resurrect certain sections. In 2027, Transdev will allow the reestablishment of the TER line between Nancy, Vittel and Contrexéville, closed since 2016 by the SNCF and the Region because it was considered too expensive. A reopening against concerns about train access in rural areas.

3. Delays, lack of trains: end of the hassle on the TER?

A denser and more reliable network is the great hope of regional councils and users. In 2023, the regularity and punctuality of these services have further deteriorated in 9 out of 11 regions. “In our countryside, the line leading to Lyon experiences frequent delays and it is not uncommon for the Amplepuis station to (Rhône), the closest village, is not served,” notes Isabelle, a TER regular. In certain regions such as Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Occitanie or PACA, one train in four arrives at the terminus more than five minutes late.

By encouraging competition, the regions intend to regain control. From now on, they define lots (lines, number of trains, service times) and submit calls for tenders to the SNCF and its competitors. Since 2021, only two lines have been allocated to another operator. Transdev will thus ensure the connection between Marseille, Toulon and Nice from June 2025, and that between Nancy, Vittel and Contrexéville at the end of 2027. But the first effects on the portfolio of regional councils are already being observed. “On the Marseille-Nice line, for a similar budget envelope, the region gets by with double the number of daily trains, i.e. 15 round trips per day,” indicates Solène Garcin-Berson, general delegate of the French Association of rail (Afra), which brings together alternative operators to SNCF.

Although the price of the TER ticket should not change, the liberalization mainly serves as a lever for regional presidents to encourage SNCF Voyageurs to lower its prices. In Pays de la Loire or Hauts-de-France, where the public company won the calls for tenders, the region is also getting away with more trains, without spending more. “Competition has virtuous effects on the use of taxpayers’ money, especially in our context of budgetary crisis where local authorities are accused of spending too much,” notes Florent Laroche, lecturer in transport economics at the University of Lyon 2.

4. More comfort and better services?

Travelers are already discovering new possibilities on board trains. On its Paris-Lyon line, Trenitalia offers four different comfort classes: two economy classes, one for working in peace, the other for traveling with family; a high-end business class; a meeting room for five people equipped with a 32-inch screen and accompanied by Italian snacks. “It’s the nature of competition to want to stand out from the crowd,” says Solène Garcin-Berson, who also highlights the battle for the quality of Wi-Fi between companies.

But all operators remain equal in the face of climatic hazards and abandoned baggage which causes delays, says a TER driver. From his twenty years of experience, he warns against the puzzle of operators that competition could bring on the rails. “This risks complicating passenger postponements and connections in the event of accidents or disruptions. Example: if a Proxima train is blocked on a track, passengers will not necessarily be able to board the next train, because it will belong to Renfe or Trenitalia…” With the end of the SNCF monopoly, the offers will not be the same. the only ones to multiply, so too are the complaints offices.

5. Should we expect strikes in the months and years to come?

“Make no mistake, the management of the SNCF is in favor of opening up to competition, it is the railway workers who are opposed to it,” assures Patricia Pérennes, also a consultant for the Trans-Missions firm. After a day of strike on November 21, the four SNCF unions are considering a renewable social movement from the evening of December 11 to oppose the arrival of competition on TER lines, which will become compulsory in 2034.

Their dissatisfaction is based on the transformations of the SNCF imposed by the 2018 law for a new railway pact. When the company wins a regional call for tenders, it must now create a subsidiary legally domiciled in the region. This territorialization displeases railway workers who fear a fragmentation of their status. “We are already observing in the negotiations losses of bonuses, changes in work rhythms, greater working hours, an expansion of missions…”, lists a driver in Burgundy-Franche-Comté.

Jean-Pierre Farandou, president of SNCF, responded to these criticisms directly on September 14, during the Fête de l’Humanité. “A mechanic in Rodez who does not have a train to drive for two or three hours can, for the sake of efficiency of public money, carry out switches on service roads during this time. If we don’t do it, others will. We must accept this reality: we are now in competition. » Not sure that this reminder of reality will slow down the unions in their attempts to block.