“Fed up with the rail financing system in the country,” says Christophe Coulon, vice-president of transport for the Hauts-de-France region. Like him, it was his counterparts from the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Centre-Val-de-Loire, Ile-de-France, Occitanie, Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Grand-Est regions who attacked SNCF network in front of the Council of State to contest the increase in rail tolls. An increase on average of 8% which represents millions of additional euros payable by the regions. Explanations.
What is a rail toll?
You probably don’t know this but, like motorway companies, SNCF Réseau, the manager of France’s rail network, charges for the right to travel on the tracks. For the TGV, this “rail toll” represents around 40% of the ticket price paid by the traveler. For the TER, it is to the regions that the little note is sent. “It costs us 140 million euros per year, or 15% of the ticket price, entirely covered by the region,” assures Christophe Coulon.
Essentially, this tax is used to maintain the rail network, at least for the TGV network. Because if SNCF network partly finances the maintenance of the TER network, the regions also contribute regularly: “The work on certain lines, on the railway infrastructures, it costs me 250 million”, continues the VP of transport of Hauts- of France. “I pay a toll to run trains that I buy on tracks whose maintenance I already finance, it’s incredible,” he still denounces.
What ignited the powder
It is precisely this rail toll that SNCF network, with the agreement of the Transport Regulatory Authority (ART), intends to increase by an average of 8% for the next three years. A necessary tariff adjustment for the network manager which, according to AFP, aims to achieve financial balance in 2024.
Since this year, the toll amount has been calculated according to a flat rate based on traffic forecasts transmitted by the regions. For the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, the planned increase is 5.3%, “i.e. an additional charge of 11 million euros”, indicated the region’s lawyer, Aurélien Burel, to AFP. Same final amount of 11 million euros increase for Hauts-de-France, which increases the annual toll bill to 155 million euros, or more than 17% of the budget allocated by the region to rail ( 900 million per year).
Procedure before the Council of State and possible consequences
By mutual agreement, the eight regions cited each filed before the Council of State requests for annulment of the “provisions relating to pricing for the use of the national rail network”. They also filed requests to annul the ART’s decision to authorize SNCF Réseau to request an increase in this toll. According to our information, the Council of State examined, on Wednesday, the requests against the ART “which the public rapporteur, in her conclusions, proposed to deem inadmissible”, explained to 20 minutes a source close to the case. The decision is expected in the coming days. The requests against SNCF Réseau were postponed to a later date, probably in February.
If the regions were to be rejected, the consequences could be serious. First of all, they should pay for the increase: “when we have no new revenue, the only solution to meet new expenses is to cut somewhere,” deplores Christophe Coulon. In Hauts-de-France, an increase in the price of TER tickets is already in the pipeline for entry into force in February. “1% for students, 4% for others. This is the first time in six years that we have increased prices,” recognizes the VP of Transport. For him, there is no question of making users bear the new rail toll price. Will it be the same for other regions? “No one is yet coming forward on this subject because these are above all political decisions,” slips Christophe Coulon.