The report on the French rail system issued by Jean-Cyril Spinetta, former CEO of Air France-KLM, and forwarded to French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, includes 43 proposals for the French rail system’s reorganisation. The document, entitled „Report on the Future of Rail Transport”, will be a subject of work for the railway sector segment in the forthcoming „Mobility Guidance” Law scheduled for April 2018.
Among the proposed measures are the transformation of SNCF Mobilités operator and of SNCF Réseau infrastructure manager into public limited state-owned companies (société anonyme, as the French original term); stopping the expansion of the high-speed network and upgrading the current network; the review of the provision of passenger services on small number of users; the transformation into subsidiaries of the freight transport activities within SNCF and their recapitalization; the reinsertion of the Gares & Connexions station management (which is currently subordinated to SNCF Mobilités) and the railway safety operations’ reintegration, currently depending on SNCF holding, within SNCF Réseau.
The report also anticipates the opening of competition on the segment of regional trains and long-distance travel (intercity and high-speed) in 2019, so that competing operators can actually enter the market in 2021. For regional lines, the report proposes a tender to be organised, with only one winner who will become the operator of the line the operator has bid for. For long-distance rail connections, the report opts for open-access competition (multiple operators on the same line).
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