Passenger rail transport grew by 6% in 2024 (and by 14% compared with 2019, the reference year), a level equivalent to the two previous years, according to the latest report from the French Transport Regulation Authority (ART). The increase, which amounts to 4% for high-speed trains alone, could have been greater had it not been for the year-long closure of SNCF and Trenitalia's Paris-Milan routes due to a rockfall. in the Maurienne valley in August 2023.
On the other hand, competition from these two airlines on the Paris-Lyon route is bearing fruit, with lower rates and an increase in ridership of 20%, compared with 2019, on an axis that accounts for 10% of high-speed rail activity. ART points out that in Spain, where competition is now very strong between Renfe, Trenitalia (with Iryo) and SNCF (with Ouigo Spain), overall passenger numbers rose by 14% last year and by almost a third since the pandemic.
The arrival in 2023 of the Renfe from Lyon and Marseille, to Barcelona and Madrid respectively, has also made boost visitor numbers by 30% since 2019 on the France-Spain routes. The good form of the train concerns Europe in general, which has seen its ridership increase by 7% (in passenger-km). However, the United Kingdom is struggling to catch up with pre-crisis levels (-8%/2019) despite growth of 10% in 2024.
Ouigo fares have risen by 25% in 2024 according to the ART
According to ART, high-speed trains maintained their occupancy rate at 75%, with an overall rate of 51%. Rate increases were contained to 2%This is a more moderate level after the surges recorded in 2022 (+8%) and 2023 (+15%), linked to inflation and rising costs. This slower growth is also due to the growing importance of Ouigo, which now accounts for 25% of French traffic. Even so, Ouigo fares rose by 25% last year, while those of conventional high-speed trains, already considered excessive, increased by 9%.
On the positive side, ART notes that improved punctuality on the various networks studied, of the order of 76% for the TAGV, 89% for the TER and Intercités, and 91% for the Transilien and TER. High-speed train services increased by 4% over the year, with the continued success of western cities such as Rennes, Nantes and Bordeaux, which saw an annual increase in frequencies of 8%. Lyon, with the increase in Trenitalia services, came third, with +4%.
TERs in great shape in 2024
Growth was driven by the TER and Intercités networks, which recorded an overall increase in traffic of 11%. And by 35% compared with 2019. The occupancy rate rose by 4 points to an average of 30%. Traffic benefited from the introduction of the Rail Pass, which generated almost 2.4 million journeys last summer. However, this measure will not be renewed in 2025, as it attracted "only" 230,000 of the 800,000 young people expected to use the trains.
In detail, TER traffic increased by 10% for all regions, i.e. a third more than in 2019. But +60% for three regions: Brittany, Occitania and Pays de la Loire. " In nine out of eleven regions, ridership increased more strongly than capacity, leading to a rise in TER capacity utilisation." the report emphasises. Transilien and RER services also increased in 2024 and are finally approaching 2019 levels (-2%). These strong winds were supported in particular by the Olympic and Paralympic Games held in Paris during the summer and in September 2024. Traffic on RER lines A, B, C and D increased by +20% during the summer of 2024. The full effect of the extension of line E, also built for the Olympic Games, should be felt in the 2025 ridership figures.
