Paris (AFP)

SNCF intends to offer "accessible" prices in its TGV to win back travelers lost during the coronavirus pandemic, says its CEO Jean-Pierre Farandou in an interview with Le Figaro to be published on Monday.

"At the end of the crisis, everyone will have purchasing power problems. We want to find a large number of travelers and we must offer them affordable prices," said Mr. Farandou, giving hope for "more readable pricing, more simple and more accessible ".

"I'm tired of associating + expensive TGV + with + SNCF +. It's not true, but the image is there," he sighs.

"To have an accessible price policy, it is imperative that we lower our production costs," he explains.

"It is feasible thanks, in particular, to predictive maintenance and industrial digitization, which will allow us to make better use of our trains."

"At the end of September the difference in turnover was 5 billion euros compared to the budget. The loss of operating margin (house equivalent of gross operating income, note) was 4 billion euros", recalls Mr. Farandou, who is not yet making projections on the consequences of the re-containment.

"The year will obviously be very bad," he summarizes.

He had warned Monday in a message to railway workers that 2021 would also be "very difficult".

Overall, short-time working and budget restrictions saved 1.5 billion euros, "but recruitments continued with 4,000 people on permanent contracts in 2020. Last year, we recruited 5,000". , remarks the leader.

The state came to the rescue of the SNCF, he welcomes.

A recapitalization "is not, at this stage, on the agenda", he said.

"The State will decide in 2021 if it wants or can intervene in the capital of the company", he told Le Figaro.

Anyway, there is no question for him to sell 49% of the capital of the logistics subsidiary Geodis, as Laurent Brun, secretary general of the CGT-Cheminots asserts.

"Geodis is one of SNCF's strategic assets, including in times of crisis. Moreover, Geodis' role in France and its value are growing. Selling this nugget in short-term response to the crisis would therefore not make sense. ! "

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