In designing this train, have the expectations of business travelers been taken into account? Is it important for you to meet them?
Jean Castex – The expectations of all travelers have been taken into account. But we know that the TGV Inoui range includes a significant proportion of business travelers. This is a statistical reality. And so, indeed, it is absolutely necessary to take their needs into particular consideration.
However, this new-generation TGV will not run on the line most frequently used by nomadic professionals, Paris-Lyon, but on Marseille and Nice. Why this choice?
J. C. - Why Paris-Marseille rather than Paris-Lyon? First of all because it makes sense to put the most capacious and comfortable trains on the longest routes. The other reason is the obsolescence of the existing equipment, because these are the lines where we have the oldest carriages. Therefore, we have decided to serve Marseille, then Nice and the Alps with the TGV Nouvelle Génération for the time being. But that will come. We have nevertheless ordered a hundred carriages and the majority will be deployed on the South-East axis, where we will put more than eighty of them.
Paris-Marseille is also a line on which Trenitalia has recently positioned itself. Is that a coincidence?
J. C. - If you are trying to make me say that with this New Generation TGV we will seek to improve the SNCF’s competitiveness compared to the Italian group FS, the answer is of course yes. And then, anyway, we had to choose: you can’t deploy it everywhere.
The Atlantic axis is not currently a priority for the Nouvelle Génération TGV? And this is despite Velvet is expected to launch on this axis in 2028 with, precisely, these new-generation TGV trains, while you will be offering older trains?
J. C. - To begin with, the trains that travel to the Atlantic, as well as to the east of France, are newer; the last ones were delivered in 2021. We are not replacing them now. But of all the trains ordered, we will still have some for this route, and the TGV Nouvelle Génération will also be deployed, of course. Velvet will help us a lot, but it won’t change the situation; this new company doesn’t have a huge fleet. What bothers me more, and I’ve already said it, is that they only offer direct services from Paris to Bordeaux, Paris to Nantes, and Paris to Rennes. Although, to make things even more interesting, they will stop at Angers, I believe.
That’s the overall problem of competition…
J. C. - Yes, and this economic model focused solely on the profitable parts of the TGV is not for me. To be competitive, SNCF would have to only operate direct routes, which are in fact much more profitable. But then, what happens? Creusot, Angoulême… All these cities will no longer be served and I will have the entire France against me. The TGV business is currently in surplus because we are making up for the deficit between profitable and unprofitable lines. But if someone comes and takes a portion of that surplus, either we will close unprofitable routes, which will penalize some cities, or we will be in deficit if we continue to serve them. That’s where the system is flawed; the same rules of the game must apply to everyone. Either their trains stop at Creusot or Angoulême like we do; or, if you don’t want to stop there, you fund a per-equitation fund. Otherwise, the rules of the game are skewed.
You are a former political leader at the highest level. How do you convey this message to the public authorities?
J. C. - We did it. We convinced parliamentarians to submit many amendments to the framework bill on transport. Not all of them were accepted, of course. But we are eagerly awaiting the end of parliamentary debates.
Continuing on this topic of competition, how do you view the obligation placed on SNCF Connect to soon distribute the trains of your competitors?
J. C. - It’s not aberrant, but it’s not a national issue. It’s a community issue. As soon as SNCF Connect has to distribute its competitors, we need our competitors in Italy or elsewhere to do the same. Again, the rules of the game must be the same for everyone.
