The Government does not guarantee its economic support in the face of the extra cost of the energy bill in transport

The government does not intend to offset the additional cost of the energy bill in transport, even if it says it is ready to discuss with SNCF, minister Clément Beaune said on Thursday.

For the particular case of the SNCF, the minister indicated that he will discuss the issue with its director general, Jean-Pierre Farandou. “The State is not going to be able to absorb everything, that is clear,” he stressed.

By 2023, “we will see the exact additional cost and how the cost of energy will evolve by the end of the year,” the Minister of Transport pointed out, while Jean-Pierre Farandou estimated on Wednesday the additional cost currently expected between 1.6 and 1.7 billion of euros. The SNCF should be able to live “without a major impact” next year and, “in the very short term, this is not an important budgetary issue in the State-SNCF relationship”, assured Clément Beaune. But we will have to be attentive to 2024, when most of the contracts for the advance purchase of electrical energy will come to an end, ”he pointed out.

No aid for the regions

Clément Beaune does not anticipate aid for the regions, which undertake by contract to cover the rise in energy prices for the public transport they organize. Half of SNCF’s additional electricity costs will come from regional trains and should therefore theoretically be reimbursed by the regions.

Clément Beaune “is not entirely hostile” to the fact that the regions may register temporary operating deficits, specifying that no decision has yet been taken in this regard.

A tariff measure inspired by Spain and not Germany

At the same time, the minister indicated that he was studying a “fare measure” to encourage the use of public transport. He said that he was more interested in the formula currently being tested in Spain – free passes after a certain number of train journeys – than in the German “9-euro ticket” – all German public transport, urban and regional, was at 9 euros a month-. this summer, which did little to encourage motorists to abandon their vehicles.