The railway cooperative Railcoop, whose financial difficulties endanger its plan to run trains between Bordeaux and Lyon, is examining “all possible means” to avoid judicial liquidation, it said on Thursday. “We are studying all possible means to bring about a recovery and not a liquidation. The decision will be made next week,” a Railcoop spokesperson told AFP.
Meeting on Monday afternoon, the board of directors of Railcoop “observed that it would certainly be necessary to initiate collective proceedings” before the commercial court due to its lack of funds, said the spokesperson, confirming a report from the specialist magazine Ville, Rail & Transports. “The information has been transmitted to our members and we are waiting for the general assembly this Saturday morning to fine-tune the strategy based on their votes,” he added.
Failed fundraising
The company, which wanted to raise 500,000 euros by the end of September to pay the salaries and invoices of its suppliers, did not meet its goal and only raised 383,500 euros, its general director, Nicolas Debaisieux, told AFP on Saturday. In June it launched an urgent appeal to its 14,500 members to raise this half a million euros.
The CEO confirmed to reporters on September 21 that Railcoop needed “urgent and immediate cash flow” to survive. Based in Figeac (Lot), the cooperative has obtained railway slots (traffic strips) from SNCF Réseau to guarantee from December 15, 2024 a daily round trip between Bordeaux and Lyon, passing through Périgueux, Limoges, Montluçon and Roanne. The company also has railway lines due to open in Limoges-Lyon in summer 2024.
Source: BFM TV
