Commuters on the Paris – Troyes – Mulhouse and Paris – Châlons – Strasbourg lines complain that they do not always know when their working day will end, and value the ability to board the next-available train to suit their movements. Grand Est points out that reservations are exchangeable and reimbursable free-of-charge until the day before, and 25% of seats remain accessible without reservation. The move is designed to ease overcrowding and ensure that most passengers are seated. 

Occitanie région has firmly rejected compulsory reservation. Jean-Luc Gibelin, transport vice president, told Franceinfo: “It is not planned to introduce compulsory reservation on TERs. The position of the région is to make TER as easily accessible as possible, and that is what we do on a daily basis. Booking is not in prospect, especially for commuting”.

In May rolling stock leasing company Akiem opened a new maintenance and overhaul workshop at Ostricourt between Lille and Lens. To mark the event new Alstom Traxx MS3 188.011, part of a batch of 100 MS3s currently being delivered to Akiem, has been named 'Ostricourt' and also carries Hauts de France decals. Seen above on 13th June near Somain being towed by Railadventure DE18 4185.011, running as 46021 Dourges D3 – Forbach. Photo: Didier Delattre.

Nevertheless, 1.5 million journeys had been made by mid-August and there were clearly many satisfied customers. Amongst them, France Bleu interviewed Marcel Roblin of Bordeaux who travelled over 12,000km on 59 trains during July, saving €1,300 in fares. Having shared his experiences online, he received a message of congratulations from President Macron.

On a bitterly cold 20th February 2016 BB 75340/341 are seen near Villar-Saint-Pancrace with Train 5789 Paris Austerlitz – Briançon ICN. No alternative route is available for diversion of this night train during engineering work at Livron-sur-Drôme starting on 16th September, travellers being offered a coach departing Briançon at 20.30 taking 10h 50min to Paris. The train will run at weekends during November, with normal service resuming on 8th December. Photo: Christophe Masse.

Round Table 1 was largely occupied by discussion of the poor reliability of the current network, with a diagram circulated showing performance during the first three months of 2024 when there were 269 cancellations. Despite the challenges of old rolling stock and motive power as well as overnight engineering works, SNCF said that patronage had grown from 350,000 in 2019 to 770,000 in 2023, an increase of 120%. In the face of doubt as to its commitment, SNCF defended its punctuality and reliability record, in particular the improvements in traffic management, trouble-shooting and diesel loco availability since last winter’s severe operating problems. 

Round Table 2 saw the non-SNCF operators set out their views on how the French network might develop. Alain Richard used Austria’s model to illustrate how France could become part of a Europe-wide network, suggesting dedicated routes to improve reliability of overnight freight and ICN trains, leasing of interoperable locomotives, and design of rolling stock suitable for both night and daytime operation. 

Fabrice Toledano reminded the meeting that Thello (now Trenitalia France) was the first foreign operator to enter the French market. The ICN offer should be guided by customer expectations he said. High operating costs stemmed from the Night Train’s character as train, hotel and catering service, with only one trip possible per 24h, thereby making investment less attractive in comparison with intensively-used day trains. Nevertheless, Trenitalia has 70 new cars on order for Milan – Syracuse, demonstrating its desire to develop the market (though it has a public service obligation to operate such routes). 

This view was echoed by Adrien Aumont who outlined Midnight Trains’ project for a premium service that had foundered due to regulatory problems and lack of interest from investors (see July News). He believed that night trains could never be a low-cost product. Rather than seeking to compete with airlines, he stressed the need for high-quality rolling stock to justify high fares. In particular private facilities (berths for one or two people, with toilet and shower) were essential to meet customer expectations. 

In conclusion, it remains the case that no further routes are slated for introduction in the short term, and one speaker called the current network ‘a waste of public money’ unless it was truly the nucleus of a much wider network. With government paralysis over the summer, the future of the 2030 plan is uncertain. Outgoing transport minister Patrice Vergriete had already expressed his doubts about further expansion in an interview with L’Usine Nouvelle in May, as a result of which it seems that an order for new rolling stock is unlikely to be placed any time soon. 

While the Limoges – Guéret section of the transversal route to Gannat (Clermont/Lyon) was upgraded and resignalled in the 2010s, the eastern portion has received little investment except for recent work at Montluçon in connection with improvements on the line northwards to Bourges. Track renewal between Montluçon and Commentry (14km) is scheduled for late 2025 but a decision is awaited on upgrading eastwards towards Gannat, including replacement of manual block signalling, to accommodate ore trains from the Imerys lithium mine to be developed at Échassières (see August News). This investment would assure the future of the eastern section. Withdrawal of the Felletin service would leave the central Guéret – Montluçon portion (78km) with just two daily trains and vulnerable to closure if AURA’s Lyon – Bordeaux IC proposal comes to nothing. 

 RENFE S-100 16 passes Port-la-Nouvelle with AVE 9724 Madrid – Marseille on 2nd June. Photo: Didier Delattre.

Paris is identified as the city with the fourth highest number of direct international train connections, after Vienna, Munich and Berlin, with 13 of 44 routes to other European cities served by direct trains. Nevertheless, a large number of routes are unserved and Paris is better connected to the rest of Europe by air than rail. Given the extent of Europe’s high-speed network, the number of cities analysed that do not have direct day trains from Paris is surprisingly high at 29. The most obvious missing connections are to Rome and Madrid, each with over 2 million air passengers a year and in the top five of Europe’s busiest short-haul flight routes without through trains. For night trains, based on air passenger figures the most important routes from Paris would be to Lisbon and Copenhagen. 

The study also looked at Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, again finding them much better connected to other European cities by air than by rail. Apart from Lisbon and London, each of which have particular problems for through trains, Marseille – Munich, Lyon – Amsterdam and Toulouse – Brussels are the busiest air routes that could easily be served by day trains. 

It's worth noting how the situation has declined over half-a-century. In 1969 Paris had through trains or through coaches to 28 out of 38 cities surveyed (ie excluding French and UK cities apart from London), and many others extending as far as Moscow, Athens and Istanbul. Lyon, Bordeaux and Toulouse also had international trains, for example Bordeaux – Lyon – Geneva – Munich. Greenpeace offers no simple explanation as to why there are so few direct trains today. Factors include lack of infrastructure investment, shortage of suitable rolling stock, lack of interoperability, lack of political will and support, regulatory issues, high access charges, and lack of co-operation between operators. 

Greenpeace calls on governments to take action and for the EC to speed up technical and legal harmonisation. It also urges policymakers to support purchase of new and secondhand rolling stock, develop a unified train information system encompassing all operators, and a unified booking system for purchase of through tickets.

Development of the busiest intermediate station, Saint-Vincent-de-Tyrosse (242,000 passengers in 2023), as a multimodal hub (PEM) is taking place in stages through to 2028 to cope with expected traffic growth as the number of trains increases. New or reopened stations are now planned at Bidart between Guéthary and Biarritz, Tarnos north of Bayonne, and Lahonce east of Bayonne on the single track to Puyôo and close to the Centre Européen de Fret (CEF) at Mouguerre.

57 Class Z 21500 EMUs were introduced between 2003/04 as an all electric development of the X 72500 diesel Automoteur TER with similar external styling.  With a top speed of 200km/h they appear to have been more successful than their diesel cousins and are now undergoing mid-life overhauls. They are now operated by Bretagne, Central-Val de Loire and Pays de la Loire régions, Nouvelle Aquitaine having sold theirs, making them a feature of north-western France. Eight units have been adapted to operate on the LGV Bretagne-Pays de la Loire and had their number prefix changed from Z 215 to Z 217. On the evening of 14th August Z 21547/Z 21553 are seen at Belleville in Pays de la Loire Aléop livery with TER 858843 18.08 Nantes – La Roche-sur-Yon. Photo: Georges Turpin.

ABFC's X 4039, the only Picasso certified for mainline operation is in Normandie until the 3rd September. On Saturday 17th August it was operating between Dieppe and Rouen, seen above shortly before Montville. Photo: Christophe Masse.

Photo: Jocelyne Bourneuf

Grand Paris Express Line 18. The 35km Line 18 has some 14km elevated including the 6.7km between Christ de Saclay and Palaiseau, the longest viaduct in France. There are three elevated stations on this section, all designed by architects Atelier Novembre-Benthem Crouwel in a harmonious style. Seen left is Moulon Campus and (right) Marguerite-Perey, both due to open with the first section between Massy-Palaiseau and Christ de Saclay in 2026. The three stations draw inspiration from 19th Century railway structures, with concrete boxes each side of the viaduct supporting a steel origami-like framework which will be faced in different coloured materials, yellow for Moulon Campus and white for Marguerite-Perey.Photos: © Atelier Novembre-Benthem Crouwel Architects/LV.

Olympics. Paris transport deserved a gold medal according to reports, with few incidents and little overcrowding despite handling 4 million passengers daily, 20% of whom used newly-opened Line 14. After two weeks’ breather, RATP and SNCF geared up again from 28th August to move the Paralympics crowds whilst at the same time coping with the start of the new school year on 2nd September. In addition to augmented service on eight metro lines and RER C and E, 150 vehicles adapted for people with reduced mobility are on hand at the main line terminals and Rosa Parks Line E station.