L'Transport Regulation Authority (ART) notes in its annual review of the French rail transport market in 2020 that the market remains attractive to new operators. Competition in rail transport services in the European Union came into effect on 13 December 2020.
Alternative operators ready to cross swords with SNCF
According to the report, In addition to the incumbent SNCF, five alternative operators have applied to the ART for 38 services. These 5 operators are Flixtrain, The TrainRailcoop, Trenitalia France (ex-Thello) and Renfe. Each operator has declared its intention to operate freely organised services on both high-speed and conventional lines.
The first concrete step was taken on 18 December with the launch of a high-speed service between Paris and Milan via Lyon by Trenitalia. The operation of new night trains (Midnight Trains, ÖBB) is also envisaged. Other routes will be added to the Paris-Vienna night train service in the near future.
On the other hand, Renfe's arrival on the Paris-Lyon-Marseille line seems to be going off the rails. According to Mediapart, the application submitted to the French authorities has so far been rejected. The reason given according to Mediapart, the " electromagnetic interference" caused by the trains on the network's signalling system. These trains are the same as those used for the TGV. The Spanish Transport Minister is keeping a close eye on the matter. He has already expressed his impatience with his French counterpart and the European Commissioner for Transport.
Five French regions now open to competition
Since 2020, the French regions have been opening up their contracted rail services to competition. As a result, the Sud-PACA region launched a tender procedure for the award of two lots, which led, on 28 October 2021, to the award of one lot to SNCF Voyageurs ("Azur" lines) and one lot to Transdev ("Métropoles" lines). According to the report, four other regions (Hauts-de-France, Grand-Est, Pays de la Loire and Île-de-France) are also preparing to launch competitive rail services.
Six rail companies are positioning themselves in the niche of regional services. Naturally, the SNCF but also Arriva, Régionéo (a subsidiary of RATP Dev and Getlink), RENFE, Trenitalia France and Transdev.
The report also takes stock of visitor numbers. As a result of the health crisis, use of the national rail network is down by 25 % in 2020, compared with the high level recorded in 2017..
The health crisis has affected visitor numbers
The modal share of passenger rail transport has thus fallen by 2.5 points compared with 2019. Its market share was 7.5 % in 2020. Rail patronage fell by 41%, more sharply than supply. This led to sharp falls in occupancy rates on all services. However, domestic business on high-speed trains (TAGV) and regional express trains (TER) recovered more rapidly than international business, which remained at a low level throughout the year.
Within the TAGV activities, the share of Ouigo services, operated by SNCF Voyageurs, continued to increase in 2020. The low-cost business fell by only 19 % in passenger numbers, while the TAGV routes in SNCF Voyageurs' Inoui offer have seen reductions of 36 to 37 % (Atlantic and South-East routes) and up to 49 % for the Eastern route.
Commercial revenues have therefore fallen for all services, but especially for high-speed and international services. The occupancy rate for domestic TGVs fell by 13 points (from 72% to 59%); that for international services by 16 points (from 68% to 52%)..
Against a backdrop of heavy deprogramming due to the health crisis, the punctuality of services improved overall - by one percentage point - thanks to a less-used network.
Between 19% and 30 % of TER services have been cancelled in 2020, demonstrating the regions' desire to maintain services. TER ridership has fallen more sharply (36 % on average per region) than the offerThis has led to a fall in occupancy rates across all regions. Commercial revenue from TER services fell by 29 % in line with trends in visitor numbers.
