Proxima has made a good start on the €1 billion it received from the Antin Infrastructure Partners fund before the summer. For €850 million, the future competitor of the SNCF in the west of France has just ordered 12 Avelia Horizon high-speed trains from Alstom. Delivery will begin in 2028This suggests that commercial operations will start in the same year at best, or rather the following year. The timetable could therefore be a year later than previous reports, which predicted that the first trains would be tested in 2027, with operations starting in 2028.
However, Proxima will not have to wait for endless certifications for its trainsets, as these are already under way for the first Avelia Horizon trains, the famous TGV M more than a hundred units have been ordered by SNCF, which plans to use them from the second half of 2025. Proxima intends to become SNCF's main competitor in the west of France by serving Paris. to Bordeaux, Rennes, Nantes, Angers and Le Mans. This ambitious project is being led by Rachel Picard, who worked for many years at the SNCF, successively heading up Voyages-sncf.com, Gares & Connexions and Voyages SNCF, and Timothy Jackson, who ran the RATP subsidiary in the UK before founding Alpha Trains, a railway equipment rental company.
10 million places offered per year
According to Alstom, the contract also provides for the maintenance of the 12 trainsets over an initial 15-year period, thanks to the construction of a workshop at Marcheprime, near Bordeaux. The Avelia Horizon is a double-decker high-speed train capable of speeds of up to 320 km/h. Above all, this TGV has 35% more capacity than current trains, i.e. up to 740 passengers in the 200 metre version, while being more environmentally friendly with 30% less energy consumed. The trainset is lighter, with two innovative power trains and fewer bogies.
With its 12 high-capacity trains, Proxima plans to market 10 million seats a year on the Grand Ouest network. Rolling stock is the sinews of war in the opening up of rail competition in France. Kevin Speedwhich intends to launch its Ilisto-branded TGVs in 2028 between Paris, Lyon, Lille and Strasbourg, is also in the process of putting together a €1.2 billion financing round so that it can launch a call for tenders with a manufacturer, including Alstom, Siemens or Talgo.
