SNCF Group announced a net profit of EUR 119 million for the first six months of 2017, generated by a strong increase in the number of journeys carried out on the high-speed railways. Based on fears about the competition threat the French national railway operator is facing from long-distance buses and ride-sharing apps, at the end of July, SNCF reported an increase of 3.7% in the group’s general incomes compared to the same period of 2016, valued to EUR 16.6 billion in the first six months of 2017.
Journeys in the TGV network increased by 8.4%, while sales increased by 5.9%, a measure also backed by the strong absorption of TGCMax, a pass providing limitless journeys to those aged between 16 and 27. This means 1.8 billion journeys in the first half of the year, SNCF reveals, and now this measure attracted 90,000 subscribers.
Also, the low-cost service launched by SNCF, TGV Ouigo, enjoys a spectacular increase, with 20% more passengers than in the first half of 2016. At present, TGV Ouigo owns 5.4% of total high-speed domestic services.
Regarding other parts of the rail passenger transport market, SNCF also underlined a recovery in the economic growth of its regional activity in the TER network, where the volume increased by 4.7% and sales by 4.9% for the first time in five years, sales thus exceeding the transport volume in this segment.
The state-financed investment programme, on the Intercités network of conventional long-distance trains, is supported as a factor of 4.2% volume growth for these services.
On the other hand, SNCF’s trade and logistics division reported a 3.3% growth, but it was mainly sustained by the freight transport division, SNCF Geodis. However, railway freight transport companies, members of SNCF Group, remain „under pressure”, said SNCF.
National infrastructure manager, SNCF Réseau, reported a 0.8% growth of incomes reaching EUR 3.2 billion.
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