Concrete competition from the opening up to competition of the rail sector in the European Union, SNCF is investing the Madrid-Barcelona line in Spain, with its low-cost Ouigo offer.

A massive investment that sounds like a test for the French rail operator, who opts for an aggressive strategy of setting up with low prices. 

DECRYPTION

A full-scale test for the SNCF.

For the first time, the French rail giant is exporting its trains to a European neighbor: Spain.

As a concrete consequence of the opening of the sector to competition within the European Union, SNCF will invest in the Madrid-Barcelona line.

The project is officially presented this Friday, with the launch of an inaugural train.

The first commercial trip will take place on Monday.

And to compete with the historical Spanish operator, RENFE, SNCF is betting on a low-cost offer by offering Ouigo trains.

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With five daily round trips between the two Spanish metropolises, the French company does not come to make up on this "queen link".

SNCF has invested more than 600 million euros and is offering 14 double-decker TGVs that will run on Spanish rails.

Objective with Ouigo Spain: 10 million places each year and become a full-fledged operator in the landscape of the Iberian Peninsula.  

An aggressive price strategy

By putting low-cost trains into service in Spain, SNCF is opting for an aggressive strategy in order to make a difference. Tickets will be available from 9 euros, for an average call price of around 25 euros. "It is really a strategy of attacking the Spanish market with low cost prices", decrypts Gilles Dansart, journalist, editor-in-chief of the

Mobilettre

site 

 and specialist in rail transport, on Europe 1. "It is a strategy that will go completely against what it constantly denounces, ie the low cost of air travel or even a certain number of fares on long-distance coaches in France ".

And this opening up to competition, a first in a European country, will be a real test for the French operator, on several levels.

Especially since, to retaliate, RENFE announced the launch of its own low cost trains from June 23.

In 2022, it will be the turn of the Italian operator to attempt the installation: Trenitalia will send trains from its subsidiary Ilsa on the Madrid-Barcelona route but also to Valencia and Andalusia.

Destinations identical to those targeted by SNCF to enrich its offer.

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"Today, there are more kilometers of high-speed lines in Spain than in France. But the success is not necessarily there. So there, it is a full-scale test", analyzes the specialist journalist. "There will be 3 operators on this queen link between the two major Spanish metropolises. So we have to see how it goes before possibly considering other developments."

"It is also a laboratory for ending a pandemic crisis", adds Gilles Dansart.

"How are people going to react? Are they going to take the opportunity to move around more? There are several unknowns in what will happen from next Monday. Are the Spaniards going to go on French trains? because it is cheaper? Are they going to move at the end of the pandemic or in any case at the end of the pandemic, because they are tired of staying at home? " he does. 

Soon, an opening in France? 

This first opening for a 100% trip abroad also announces the opening of competition in France, where new operators can set up and compete with SNCF on its historical territory.

"It is legally quite possible," recalls the specialist journalist.

"Provided that foreign players are willing to come and attack the French market. And it must be said that the SNCF is defending itself very strongly since precisely, a few years ago, by setting up a so-called low cost offer, it cut a little 'grass under the feet of operators who would have come to compete with it with very low prices. "

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Backfires that complicate the task of potential competitors but do not discourage them, whether French or foreign.

"Today there are projects which are not necessarily foreign, which are French arrangements, and it will be interesting to see how they will try to find flaws in the SNCF system", analyzes Gilles Dansart.

The first example should materialize on the Rhone axis, Paris-Lyon-Marseille, with competition from the Italian operator.

"We will see how they go about it. But it is likely that this will be the first attempt in France to compete with SNCF on its territory, which will be less massive than what SNCF does in Spain", nevertheless specifies the editor-in-chief of

Mobilettre.