The future Le Train company has announced that it has completed a new round of financing, raising eight million euros. Alongside the two historical shareholders, Crédit Mutuel Arkéa and Crédit Agricole Charente-Périgord, who have been shareholders since May 2022, four new financial partners have come on board. Charente Périgord Expansion, Naco, Aquiti Gestion and Tudigo for Le Train. In addition to these entrepreneurs from the four regionsLe Train had offered everyone - and in particular its future customers - the opportunity to become a shareholder through the Bordeaux-based crowdfunding platform Tudigo.
This fund-raising will enable the company to launch a new phase of development of the company by expanding and training its teams (sales staff, on-board staff, drivers, engineers, etc.). The eight million euros will also be used to create the digital platform and information system that will market tickets, exchange and refund services, timetable and disruption information, etc.
" It's an essential tool for ensuring a smooth, personalised travel experience" says Alain Getraud, General Manager and co-founder of the project, who worked for 15 years in the Major Projects Department of SNCF Réseau in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. And he announces a state-of-the-art applicationhigh-speed wifi on board, real-time information for customers...
Faced with the difficulties of finding second-hand trains in Europe, Le Train had previously secured the issue of its rolling stock by launching the acquisition - for around €300m - of 10 high-speed trains from Spanish manufacturer Talgo. Once the question of interior design has been settled, assembly will begin next year, with delivery expected from 2025.
50 trains a day by the end of 2025?
Licensed as a rail company from the end of 2022, Le Train is France's first high-speed rail company to operate between the regions, with the ambition of linking 11 destinations in the Greater Westwithout passing through Paris. Expecting annual traffic of three million passengers with 50 daily trains from the first year, the company will serve Rennes, Nantes, Bordeaux, Angers, Tours, Niort, Poitiers, La Rochelle, Arcachon...
The company's spearheads: daily connections between Rennes and Bordeaux in 3.5 hours, Nantes and Bordeaux in 3 hours, Angoulême and Bordeaux in 34 minutes, as well as the possibility for business travellers to arrive at each destination. before 9 a.m. and leaving late in the evening. But the timetable seems to be slipping further and further behind. Catherine Pihan-Le-Bars, Train's DGA, said last week that " it takes a long time to set up an operator from scratch" with the start of operations now scheduled for late 2025 or early 2026!
