with Proxima, competitors are multiplying for the SNCF

Proxima enters the station, and at Alstom we have a smile. In Belfort as in La Rochelle (Charente-Maritime), the TGV construction factories saw their order books increase by twelve new trainsets at the beginning of October. And this time, it is not SNCF which signs the check, but Proxima, a new French competitor determined to conquer rail. Open to competition since 2019, the rail transport market will welcome this new player in 2028. After the arrival of the Italian Trenitalia (2022) and the Spanish Renfe (2023), can this increased competition change the situation? for travelers, who often criticize the price of tickets as excessive?

“Today, the problem lies in the fact that there are too many passengers and not enough trains,” summarizes Patricia Perennes, rail transport economist. As a result, on certain busy TGV connections – such as those on the western coast and between major cities – the trains are filling up at breakneck speed and prices are skyrocketing. “A perfect illustration of the law of supply and demand. When the SNCF refuels its trains, the company has no interest in lowering prices,” continues the economist.

Attractive prices

Proxima will set up on the Atlantic coast, offering high-speed journeys from Paris to Nantes, Bordeaux, Rennes and Angers. With its twelve TGVs and its billion euros of investment, the young French company aims to “add 10 million additional seats per year in these destinations”, according to Rachel Picard, its CEO, herself a former director of the SNCF. What pushes prices down? Probably. The arrival of Trenitalia on the Paris-Lyon line resulted in a 10% reduction in ticket prices. Same consequence with Renfe, which offers attractive prices on its lines linking Barcelona to Lyon and Madrid to Marseille.

But competition will not solve the problem of closing small lines. Less profitable because they are less served, they do not attract new arrivals. The public service mission of the SNCF remains, more than ever, relevant.