It's a certainty that the SNCF will be announcing increases in its leisure and business fares in the next few weeks, as the rail company faces inflation on certain items and, above all, soaring energy costs since the start of the war in Ukraine. Faced with this situation, and at a time when SNCF fares are already considered high by the French, Transport Minister Clément Beaune asked on Sunday's programme Le Grand Jury RTL to be set up". a tariff shield" . In particular, he demanded that the increase in ticket prices be " lower than inflation" .
As a reminder, by the end of October 2022, consumer prices had risen by 6.2%. In particular, Clément Beaune wanted " protect those who need the train on a daily basis, the most modest, young people who use Ouigo for example" . Commuters would also be affected by this measure if it were to be introduced by SNCF, which at the very least will be working on the subject.
In mid-September, at a Senate hearing, Jean-Pierre Farandou, CEO of SNCF, pointed out that his company was the biggest consumer of energy in France, and of electricity in particular. While the increase will only be felt slightly in 2022, thanks to hedging and good purchasing contracts signed previously, this will be less the case in 2023. Jean-Pierre Farandou points out that, depending on current prices, SNCF " would result in additional costs of between €1.6 and €1.7 billion for electricity alone "It will be split 50/50 between high-speed trains and everyday trains. " If this increase were passed on directly to ticket prices, we would have to increase TGV tickets by 10%." . He did not, however, intend to pass on "any of the information contained in this press release". 100% of customer costs" . Whatever the percentage, the announcement promises to make waves.
Regional increases in TER fares
As far as daily trains are concerned, the increases will be the subject of tough negotiations in the regions, since it is they who will have to compensate for the increase in fares and TER season tickets. In other words " several tens of millions a year for each of the regions "said Jean-Pierre Farandou. While the Hauts-de-France region has postponed the increase for the time being, announcing a fare freeze for January 2023 - as has the Grand-Est region, which will wait until spring - others have taken the initiative. The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region has voted to increase fares by 8% for occasional travellers and by 2.8% for season tickets from 1 January.er January 2023. On 12 September, the Permanent Commission of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region also voted to increase TER fares by 2% from 1 January.er December. Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur is set to follow suit, as is Ile-de-France, where the Navigo pass could jump to 100 euros a month.
