The new train for the future line B of the Rennes metro is being tested.

It was designed by Siemens.

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C. Allain / 20 Minutes

  • The Covid-19 has changed our lives, and our modes of transport.

    The new municipalities elected in June also wish to rethink traffic in city centers, which will not be without consequences for future projects of urban networks.

  • In Rennes, the delivery of the colossal worksite for metro line B has already been delayed.

    It should be operational in June 2021.

  • The delay in the site should not have an impact on its budget.

    But the metropolis will have to borrow more to repay its investment of 1.3 billion euros.

It should already be open for a few weeks.

Plagued, like everyone else, by the health crisis, the construction of line B of the Rennes metro is late.

While the trains are currently being tested, the most optimistic prospect suggests that the second line of the Star network will be operational in June.

Will this delay have consequences on the cost of the investment of this monstrous site estimated at 1.3 billion euros?

A priori, no.

“On such large projects, there is always an envelope dedicated to contingencies that is budgeted.

Today, we are keeping the budget, which is quite remarkable, ”said the vice-president dedicated to transport Matthieu Theurier.

Discussions have also been initiated with the companies working on the site, which hope to obtain compensation for the additional costs generated by the Covid-19 epidemic.

Cash flow undermined

If the question of investment does not cause concern for the time being, it is more the reimbursement of this billion euros that has prompted the metropolis to reflect.

Beyond the two confinements, the Star network managed by Keolis saw its attendance drop over time, to stand at around 65% of its usual yield.

A hard blow for the city's treasury.

“We have two modes of financing.

The mobility payment paid by companies, which normally brings us between 110 and 120 million euros per year, and the revenue linked to subscriptions and ticketing, which brings in 40 to 45 million ", continues the elected ecologist.

The year 2020 not having been "normal", the community has a deficit of 12 million euros.

"The drop in transport prices for young people and free access for children under 12 will also weigh heavily on the 2021 budget", adds Marie Ducamin, mayor of Saint-Jacques and vice-president for finance.

"We have no other choice"

With revenues at half mast, the community will have no other choice but to borrow to repay its line B. “Our deleveraging capacity was four years.

It will gradually increase to seven or even eight years.

We have no other choice if we do not want to touch taxes and maintain our investments in the future ”, warns Matthieu Theurier.

In its misfortune, Rennes Métropole will console itself by taking advantage of very low interest rates, which will allow it not to suffer too much from these loans, far from being toxic.

"The metropolis is in very good financial health and it will keep it", promise its officials.

"But we will have to find our recipes".

Who can predict what the health situation will be this summer?

And what impact it will have in the long term on the use of public transport.

Before the arrival of the coronavirus, line A carried around 150 million travelers per year.

Line B was to attract 100 million more.

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  • Society

  • Video

  • Taxes

  • Metropolises

  • Matthieu Theurier

  • Line B

  • Loan

  • Keolis

  • Metro

  • Public transport

  • Reindeer

  • Transport