The large sums allocated by West-European governments to rail infrastructure maintenance are no longer news to those involved in the rail sector (in fact, nor are the large sums allocated to the procurement of new and competitive rolling stock, as they are quite accustomed to such projects, but this particular segment should be dealt with in another article). This article focuses on the attention France pays to the optimisation and consolidation of railway infrastructure. Therefore, the Government’s attention focuses on the decarbonisation of the transport sector.
Towards the end of December 2016, the Board of SNCF Réseau (the French rail infrastructure manager), and the Government in Paris, approved the first multiannual performance contract as stipulated in the rail reform law in force since 2014.
SNCF Réseau appreciates the Government’s long-term commitment to the rail network as “an important step” and believes this multiannual plan has actually increased the investment and modernisation budget “to an unprecedented level”.
The performance agreement aims to approach six major objectives such as placing rail safety as priority, with the State and local authorities’ support, defining the priorities for the renewal and consolidation of the rail national network by placing France’s core network and the most used lines first, establishing a programme to modernise regional lines as stipulated in the framework agreement signed by the Government and local authorities, transforming the network management by “encouraging innovation in all activity sectors”, developing the commercial offer, especially for the rail freight transport segment, but also for improving the quality of provided services by upgrading the route allocation system and traffic management, and the sixth major objective, the establishment of a “financial direction” for SNCF Réseau.
Consequently, the multiannual perform-ance agreement stipulates total investments of over EUR 46 billion for the next 10 years. EUR 27.9 billion of the sum will be allocated to SNCF Réseau’s core network including high-speed railways and intercity lines. The amount allocated annually to these projects will increase from EUR 2.6 billion, as stipulated for 2017, to EUR 3 billion starting with 2020.
Moreover, the budget for regional lines is estimated at EUR 12 billion. It will also increase from EUR 900 million/year for 2017 to EUR 1 billion/year starting with 2018, significantly more compared to previous amounts, such as, for example, the EUR 600 million allocated in 2016 to regional lines.
Another considerable amount, of EUR 4.5 billion, will be dedicated to specific projects such as the replacement of level crossings and the improvement of accessibility for low-mobility people. The sum of EUR 1.8 billion will be allocated to the procurement of new equipment including maintenance machines and network monitoring systems.
According to the new law reform, in order to obtain a re-establishment of the financial balance, new rules will be introduced for investments in the development of the railway network. Covering total costs with the operation of the network could be obtained in ten years’ time by improving performance, obtaining higher revenues for track access charges and dividends. Consequently, the Railway Regulation Authority will be required to send a reasoned opinion regarding the total value of the financial support it will grant to SNCF Réseau for every investment project that exceeds EUR 200 million.
By means of the multiannual contract, SNCF Réseau believes it will be able to provide rail performance improvements and even obtain a EUR 1.2 billion profit by 2026.
by Elena Ilie
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