New victory of SNCF travelers in the great monopoly to open up to the competition of the regional lines (TER) in France.
In fact, the operator is holding one of the four lots put into play in the Bourgogne-French-spot region, namely, that of West-Nivernais Burgundy.
This lot represents 12% of regional traffic, or 6 million annual trips and covers the north-south connections between Dijon and Mâcon and between Nevers and Moulins, in Allier, as well as the East-West Ties between Chagny and Nevers, between Montchanin and Paray-Le-Lonial and between Lyon and Moulinas.
The contract covers seven years with an additional three -year option. The exploitation will begin through the creation of a new SNCF Travelers subsidiary in 2027.
“SNCF travelers presented the best offer,” explains Marie-Guite Dufay, the president of the region that highlights a 34% increase in the railway supply promised by the winner.
SNCF travelers won 4 of the 6 lots assigned to date
It should be said that the operator was alone in the race for this lot, the development of Ratp that had expressed its interest thrown into the towel in 2024.
Remember that for the interites and smooth, the competition is carried out through tenders and lots (from 2 to 10 per regions), which implies obligations for the candidate (services, frequencies, material) imposed by the State (for the interites) or by the regions (for TER).
However, this opening of the regional market is currently synonymous with series victories for SNCF travelers, often due to lack of combatants in less profitable lots.
Of the six lots granted, the Entity of the SNCF group won four:
- Nice Star (Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur)
- Amiens star (Hauts-de-France)
- Sud Loire (Loclo pay) and, therefore,
- Burgoña West Nivernais (Burgundy-French-Compté)
To date, it is only in southeast and this was defeated by Transdev by the very frequented line between between Toulon and pleasant and between Nancy and Contrexéville.
SNCF competitors (Keolis, Transdev, Ratp, the new participants …) are cold to attack lots considered non -profitable and critical of the regulatory framework for this opening to the competition.
During a round table in the Senate last January, Transdev criticized tenders not very accessible to new participants with “badly evil lots, a lack of transparency in the rolling stock and the state of the network, prohibitive exploitation costs and a heaviness of procedures.”
The fact is that at the moment, the rules of the game do not change. Therefore, calls to tenders in the region will continue. They are underway at the Grand Est, Hauts-de France, Normandie, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Auverne-Rhône-Alpes for Serivce that covers from 2027 to 2031.
Source: BFM TV
