“A very bad signal sent” to those who use rail freight, according to the French Rail Association
“What customers demand to transport their goods is reliability. And strikes send them a very bad signal“, reacted Wednesday November 20 Solène Garcin-Berson, general delegate of the French Rail Association (AFRA, which brings together rail operators, such as the French Transdev, the Italian Trenitalia, and the German DB Cargo) , while the SNCF unions are calling for a one-day strike the next day, as well as an indefinite strike from December 11.
One of the reasons for the call for strike launched by the railway unions is the end announced for January 1, 2025 of Fret SNCF, the leading rail freight company in France. This must be reborn in the form of two separate companies, called Hexafret for freight transport and Technis for locomotive maintenance. This is the compromise reached between the European Commission and the railway company. The unions are demanding a moratorium, which the government refuses.
franceinfo: Is the government right, the SNCF has no other choice today than to dismantle freight?
Solène Garcin-Berson : What the auditors must already understand is that the discontinuity plan which can be described by some as the dismantling or breakup of Fret SNCF, in reality, is a plan which aims to save Fret SNCF from bankruptcy, if it were to be ordered to repay the 5.3 billion euros in illegal aid it received.
So, in any case, the SNCF has no other choice?
No choice. And if the European Commission, precisely, risks condemning it to this reimbursement which will put it bankrupt, it is because it is pursuing an objective of developing rail and an objective which is to double the share of goods which are transported by the rail. And that is an ecological imperative. It is our environmental objectives which impose it, we must double this modal share of freight transport by train. The question today is how to achieve this?
“Dismantling is the solution that was considered to give profitability to an operator.”
Solène Garcin-Bersonon franceinfo
What I want to recall and what I want to clarify this evening is that the opening of the rail freight market in France took place from the mid-2000s. And that has already started to happen. make it possible to halt the decline in rail freight which began in the mid-1970s.
So, basically, this is the direction of the story and this is what will allow freight to develop and become profitable. So what you are saying today to the SNCF unions is that now is not the time to go on strike on this subject?
On the subject of strikes, it is not up to me to comment on movements which are internal movements within the SNCF group, of which the operators I represent are not part, at least for Fret SNCF…
But does it give the wrong signal?
It gives a very bad signal. In fact, there are two things on the subject of strikes, because I tell you that the alternative operators are mobilized to ensure the service that is due to their customers. They are not on strike, they are still likely to suffer the consequences. And this happens very regularly since, in fact, they depend on the SNCF network infrastructure manager, it is the rail air switcher, and therefore which ensures the operational management of traffic. So if SNCF Réseau agents are on strike, that prevents alternative operators, who are not, from traveling.
So, this is not good for opening up to competition?
That’s the first thing. But the second, and which is all the more important, and ultimately in the opposite direction, is that companies which have goods which they wish to transport, if the trains cannot run, they will rely on other modes of transport and in particular the road.
In the agreement which was concluded with the Commission, there has already been the abandonment by the SNCF of around twenty flows of goods, 20% of its turnover to competitors of the Belgian, German and French operators. , your members therefore. Can you tell us today that this is a profitable operation for buyers?
If you like, with these flows that have been put back on the market, what you also have to keep in mind is that none of these flows will return to the road. And why? Because alternative operators are mobilized to take them over. They have devoted resources to it, which they could have devoted to development, and so they will take over all of this traffic and no goods will return to the road. And that is very good news.
Since the start of 2024, these flows have been sold to SNCF competitors. For now, can you tell us that things are going well?
The flows are effectively resumed. Alternative operators have taken their responsibilities, precisely. That’s it, it’s a sense of the general interest, above all not to abandon flows which are abandoned by Fret SNCF in this operation.
Knowing that rail freight decreased by 17% over one year, in 2023, according to the Transport Regulatory Authority. Do you think that with the resumption of these flows by SNCF’s competitors, the trend will be reversed?
You mention the year 2023. It is a year, and everyone remembers it, marked by strikes around pension reform, a dark year for the railway, just as the railway was starting to regain share. market. And that’s why I insisted earlier on the fact that what customers really ask for to have their goods transported is reliability. And strikes send them a very bad signal.
“If those who use rail today experience a strike that prevents them from having goods delivered, the next day they switch to road.”
Solène Garcin-Bersonon franceinfo
They cannot tolerate unreliability, despite all efforts to provide good service.
Efforts, including financial ones, 4 billion euros of public investments were in the pipeline by 2032 for freight. Are they still relevant? Do you need it?
We have a huge need for it. Because, as I indicated, it is not enough to have competitive companies that are mobilized to provide good service. They depend on the network on which they circulate.
Do you have the assurance that these 4 billion euros of investment will be maintained?
We are mobilized to work on the investment plan to obtain them. The government confirmed that this remained the road map. Of these 4 billion, today, there are 2 billion which are financed and we are looking for an additional 2 billion to close this financing.
There are many new operators: Trenitalia on the Paris-Lyon axis, Renfe between Barcelona and Lyon, between Madrid and Marseille, and connections in the west of France planned for 2027. Are there will there be other operators?
The French market is starting to open up to competition. There are already known players, because Trenitalia France already runs on the Paris-Lyon route. It has already managed to attract many travelers and increase the number of travelers on this line and attract new customers.
With price cuts?
With price reductions, indeed, this is one of the effects. This is one of the much talked about effects of competition. It’s not the only one. If one of the effects of competition is the fall in prices, I believe that the main effect and the effect which is particularly important, which allows us to continue to attract new travelers, is the improvement of the quality of service on the one hand, and then it is above all the offer.
So new operators coming?
Absolutely, new operators are coming. We are only at the beginning of opening up to competition, with already great successes in the field. But the railways, you know, take a long time, it takes time to get set up, that’s quite normal. We already have the first examples and it is indeed intended to continue to grow, to grow, to ultimately grow the entire rail market in order to continue to attract new travelers.
