After a "super summer" marked by record attendance, the return to school looks more uncertain for SNCF in a context of inflation and concerns for purchasing power, said in an interview with AFP the CEO of SNCF. Travelers, Christophe Fanichet.

“We were there, but we weren't always on time,” admits Fanichet, who runs the railway company itself.

“This is the first summer where we have had such long periods of heat waves, and everywhere.

(…) We slowed down the trains, the rolling stock was extremely stressed.

"" This is a subject that we will find at the start of the school year, "he remarks.

“We are going to do a feedback in September: the heat wave, we all understood, must fall within the norms and standards of the box.

Whatever the region, north or south.

"It was hot on the rails and in the trains, but the railway workers were still there," he points out.

“It was hot for them too!

»

Fanichet also notes that “the Covid was still a bit there” this summer, affecting “both travelers and our agents”.

Although the number of serious incidents remained relatively limited, SNCF Voyageurs nevertheless went through a bad patch at the end of July, marked in particular by "galleys" in the RER B and D in Ile-de-France, the sinking of a Paris -Clermont and repeated misadventures at Thalys.

Two trains from the Franco-Belgian company broke down on July 19 and 24, before a train hit an animal on the 29th, causing a monster mess on the line.

“A hardware failure like that of Thalys must not happen again”, judges the manager.

A very good news

Still, very good news.

The rebound that began in the spring was confirmed, and the SNCF transported 10% more passengers compared to the already record summer of 2019, before the health crisis.

“We will have transported 23 million passengers on the TGV and Intercités in July and August.

With the international 28 million”, rejoices Fanichet.

“We took out all the trains and all the trains were very, very full.

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The TERs also saw a sharp increase in attendance, 15% above 2019. “There is a rail appetite for carbon-free mobility,” explains the manager.

“And we are also helped by the price of fuel.

With the start of the school year approaching, Christophe Fanichet is particularly cautious.

Reservations remain encouraging for leisure, but "we don't yet know how to say anything for professionals", recognizes the boss of SNCF Voyageurs.

"The SNCF is a kind of thermometer of what is happening in France", he considers.

However, "inflation is still there, there is the concern of the French for purchasing power, energy costs, we do not really know what will happen in terms of health..." On the social side, “There will be local social movements here and there,” he predicts.

But no big national strike in sight, apart from interprofessional days like that of September 29.

"It's hard to recruit"

Big topic for the start of the school year: the SNCF group wants to hire 5,000 employees, including 600 just at Transilien (trains in the Paris suburbs).

"It's hard to recruit, like all other professions," he sighs.

“And what's more, the subject is difficult: we recruit people who we have to train, which takes a lot of time.

“Finally, a little concern about the supply of materials.

“The auto industry has been shut down because it's on a tight schedule for supplies.

We don't, but our stocks are starting to drop,” remarks Fanichet.

“I didn't stop a train today because parts were missing.

But the question begins to arise, ”he warns.

As for a possible increase in the price of TGV tickets to take inflation into account, "we will have to make a decision in the fall", he indicates.

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  • Economy

  • SNCF

  • Heat wave

  • Summer

  • Railway workers

  • Inflation

  • Transportation