Delays, strikes, lack of maintenance and service: French trains often attract the wrath of their users. At a time when transport is becoming an integral part of a journey, improving the customer experience is a major challenge. While the SNCF is implementing numerous strategies and actions to achieve this objective, it would seem that the arrival of new competitors is speeding up the process. After decades of rail monopoly, France is finally opening its rails to new operators, much to the delight of passengers, whether regular or occasional. It remains to be seen what impact this decision will have on the French rail service in the long term.
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Competition rages on
The opening up to competition has long been awaited in France, all the more so with the rise in prices charged by SNCF. According to a study by Trainline, 80% of French people are in favour of opening up national lines to competition, and 77% are in favour of regional lines. Moreover, 80% of them hope that this will reduce ticket prices, while 79% expect an improvement in service quality.
However, opening up to competition also brings its share of concerns. Indeed, 38% of respondents fear the disappearance of the public service, 33% fear saturation and finally 25% fear job losses in France.
Trenitalia was the first foreign company to enter the French market with a Paris-Lyon-Milan route. This service was launched just over a year ago, and has already led to a significant reduction in fares. The average ticket price for the Lyon-Paris route has fallen by 47.6%, while tickets for the Milan-Paris route have dropped by 10.7% between 2019 and 2023, according to Trainline.
However, a landslide in Savoie in September forced the Italian operator to suspend part of its offer in France for several weeks. Since then, everything has returned to normal.
This year, it was Renfe's turn to run its trains on French rails. The Spanish operator has already opened 2 routes, Lyon-Barcelona and Marseille-Barcelona-Madrid. Just a few months after the launch of these routes, Renfe confirms that the average occupancy rate currently exceeds 80%.
These good performances in such a short space of time are the result of the Spanish operator's aggressive pricing policy. At the time of its launch, Renfe was offering TGV tickets for just €9 between the ten French stations that...
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