Regions: with the competition, is this the beginning of the end for SNCF?

Aurélien Fleurot, edited by Manon Fossat 7:30 am, October 29, 2021

The South region formalized Thursday the announcement of the allocation of its TER line between Marseille and Nice to the operator Transdev.

This is the first decision to implement competition on regional trains.

If the SNCF will still retain 90% of the traffic, the company is preparing to see competitors arrive in several other regions.

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In all of France, in fact, 10% of the TER network will be put into competition in the coming months.

And the timetables will be very varied: for the South region, everything is already in place, but the arrival of Transdev trains on the rails will not be before July 2025, for a ten-year contract.

Half of the network at stake in Hauts-de-France

But another challenge awaits the SNCF.

In the course of 2022, several lots will be put out to tender in Hauts-de-France, where half of the network will be involved. It is therefore there that the first trains of another operator should run, if the SNCF does not win at the end of 2023.

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This process is also underway in five other regions, namely Grand-Est, with several small lines, the Pays de la Loire with a lot of tram-trains between Nantes, Châteaubriant and Clisson.

The lines of the south-Loire will also be concerned, with a horizon of 2024. Not to mention, the Ile-de-France with a few lines of suburban trains, but also of trams, from next year.

Everywhere and every time, SNCF has let it be known that it will be a candidate.

And in regions less tempted by this opening up to competition, such as Occitania for example, it will be possible to renew a last contract without other candidates before the end of the year.