France - railways, public transport, services and incidents (merged posts)

[whole diary]

[TonyK]

As an aside, a Covid-19 testing tent is also available in the station area.

It's good to know that there is one closer than that offered to me by the Covid 19 app. 

The photos do look good. The building resembles a lot of the small French stations I remember from the 1970s, other than being in a lot better condition.

[Hal]

Further details announced today of the French government?s investment in railways.

Prime Minister Jean Castex visited the central city of Clermont-Ferrand and said 280 million euros are to be invested over the next two years in upgrading the link between Clermont and Paris, as well as in maintaining the small local lines in the Auvergne region and ?consolidating? the goods lines (whatever that means).

The Paris-Clermont journey will be shortened to 3 hours 15 minutes, and one extra train per day will be added. New rolling stock will arrive in 2023-24.

People in the Auvergne frequently complain about the unreliability of the rail service to Paris. And indeed, on the very day of Castex?s statement, one train from Paris arrived in Clermont more than 5 hours late ? a broken-down goods train and problems with a catenary were cited as the reasons for the delay, according to the local newspaper La Montagne.

[Lee]

From the Connexion:

Some TGVs to be cancelled in France due to lack of demand

The SNCF^▸ (Societe Nationale des Chemins de fer Francais - French National Railways) will cancel scheduled TGV journeys in the coming months to avoid running empty trains. Passenger numbers are down following the Covid-19 pandemic.

Demand for TGV trains has failed to reach levels anticipated at the beginning of September, and train operator SNCF will now cancel some scheduled TGV journeys in the coming months. Around 5% of TGV trains will be impacted.

The company has said it will not cancel trains during school holidays.

After a relatively good summer, in which people took the train to travel around France and visit friends and family, an SNCF spokesperson said: ?Things have been difficult since September.?

Weekend TGV trains continue to see good passenger numbers, but weekday trains have been circulating at half capacity. Business travel is down 60-70%.

The company says reservations for the Christmas and New Year period have also been ?disappointing?.

The spokesperson said: ?It is not economically or ecologically responsible to run TGV trains with few passengers. That?s why, taking into account the impact of the health crisis, SNCF TGV have decided to cancel a certain number.?

SNCF TGV is estimated to have lost ?3billion so far as a result of the Covid-19 health pandemic.

The spokesperson said TGV train timetables could be ?cancelled, adapted or extended throughout 2021, depending on how traffic evolves and the enduring context?.

To compensate for cancelled trains SNCF are trying to find alternatives for clients, such as suggesting TER train routes (which are slower) or integrating extra stops into existing TGV routes.

The two train routes expected to be impacted from November 2 are the TGV Paris-Mulhouse, and the TGV Paris-Le Creusot. Both routes will see one train per day cancelled.

[rogerpatenall]

I thought that TGV^▸ (Train a Grande Vitesse) and Intercite bookings for post December 12th were only released this week, so it seems a bit early to pass judgements on the level of Christmas bookings.

Some lines, such as my local  (Cherbourg) - Valognes - Paris, which are no longer run by Intercite, still have not announced their post December 12th timetable.

[Lee]

I fancy the idea of retiring to a cottage in the countryside - to an old station that's perhaps disused but has trains passing by occasionally, or is open and used by a smattering of passengers.

- A rail enthusiast property developer is currently redeveloping the historic station building at Pontivy, which still sees fairly regular freight trains, and you could view these at your leisure from one of the 4 duplex apartments being built on the upper levels. He is doing this in conjunction with the local authorities, who are building one of your favourite things in the whole wide world - a bus/rail interchange! This will include a new waiting hall, ticket office and retail space on the ground floor, the idea being to integrate regional bus, local bus, cycle routes etc with the revived tourist passenger trains that were due to start this summer but, thanks to Covid-19, are more likely now in 2021 as a first step to full passenger rail reopening - thus creating grahame heaven in the process.

Here is a translated article from Reporterre on hopes for the renovation and restoration of passenger trains on the Saint Brieuc-Pontivy-Auray line as part of the Macron initiative:

Closed for thirty years, the TER railway line which crosses Brittany from north to south could resume service. At the initiative of this possible renaissance, a collective of railway workers and a train enthusiast who campaign for the return of rail to rural areas.

The ballet of TER coaches makes the windows of buildings vibrate around the Pontivy bus station (Morbihan). Travelers protect themselves from the July sun under the only bus shelter, planted at the corner of the car park. Since the station closed in 2014, it's the only place to wait. But not for long. In a few months, the renovated building will reopen its doors to the public, thanks to Jean-Philippe Van Walleghem . This entrepreneur, passionate about trains, has invested 1 million euros to buy and renovate the station of this sub-prefecture of 15,000 inhabitants, abandoned since the collapse of part of its ceiling.

The work is progressing well. That morning, the workers carefully install the new clock on the pediment. “  A clock is the heart of a station,  ” smiles the new owner. In a few months, an SNCF^▸ (Societe Nationale des Chemins de fer Francais - French National Railways) counter will be installed there. And Jean-Philippe Van Walleghem does not intend to stop there. “  The reopening of the station is the first step. The ultimate goal is the return of the passenger train  !  "

It has been thirty years since Pontivy has not welcomed a single one. The railway line going from Saint-Brieuc (Côtes-d'Armor) to Auray via the city only sees a few freight wagons circulating. It is therefore by bus that the inhabitants go to the neighboring department, for a carbon footprint nearly twice as high. “  We have to bring trains back here. Buying the station is a militant act  , ” says Jean-Philippe Van Walleghem, a construction helmet adorned with the inscription “  station master  ” on the head.

And he is not alone. At his side, around fifty elected officials, activists and citizens are united in the collective “  Center-Bretagne en train  ”, founded two years ago to revive the rail link between the north and the south of Brittany. . The challenge is twofold: to increase freight and, above all, to get passengers back on track. The key is to open up the area and reduce road traffic.

“  When you look at the map of the region's rail network, there's a big hole in the middle. It is the center of Brittany  ”, describes Simon Brunet, railway worker member of the CGT and founder of the collective. “  It is a territory which is suffering, which is even declining. Equal treatment between citizens also involves mobility, and bus connections are not a solution for the future.  " 140,000 people live along the line. So many potential passengers.

The idea of ​​relaunching this train link is not new, but the climate emergency has accelerated the thinking. "  The ecological context was the trigger for setting up the collective,  " says the railway worker. A public meeting organized in Pontivy in November 2019 attracted around sixty people. On July 14, Emmanuel Macron announced that he wanted to develop small train lines, freight and night trains. At the same time, citizen initiatives aiming to defend or promote the train are multiplying. The Railcoop cooperative , with which the Breton collective is in contact, thus wants to relaunch the Bordeaux-Lyon train line, abandoned by the SNCF . " We feel that we have an openness, that the context is favorable to the debate  ", rejoices Simon Brunet, "  and we are going to seize it  " .

From his station under construction, Jean-Philippe Van Walleghem also feels this enthusiasm. “  It is not a question of starting trains with three travelers, it would take a market study, suitable schedules… But the community of communes [Pontivy community] has 45,000 inhabitants, that's still quite a crowd  !  " The collective hopes of reopening the Breton online travelers within five years.

It would not be a first, moreover. In 2016, a section of the TER line between Oloron-Sainte-Marie and Bedous, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, was put back into operation after fifty years of closure. The cost of 102 million euros was fully covered by the former Aquitaine region. In Brittany, the Auray-Saint-Brieuc project is supported by many local elected officials from north to south of the line. In Saint-Brieuc, the new municipal team of the ecological left is in favor, as is that of Pontivy.

"  But it is those who hold the purse string that must be convinced,  " recalls Simon Brunet. The collective estimates the cost of modernizing and operating the train link at 100 million euros. A sum that would be shared by SNCF Réseau, owner of the rail infrastructure, and the Brittany region, responsible for organizing transport.

The latter does not plan to reopen the line for the moment. "  At this stage, the Brittany region has not taken part in any discussion on the subject,  " said the vice-president for transport, Gérard Lahellec. He recalls that the community has "  agreed to co-finance infrastructure work to allow freight trains to continue to serve businesses in central Brittany  " since 2007. The Brittany region has also invested heavily in the TER , spending 160 million euros to renovate several lines.

“  We understand this position,” says Simon Brunet. As this line is of national importance for freight, the State must also assume its responsibilities.  " The group intends to take advantage of regional elections in March 2021 to highlight the subject of renovation and the creation of small lines. "  We do not want the issue of the train to be confined to speeding up connections with Paris, " said the unionist. Living in the country is a right. To ensure equality between the territories, there must be solidarity between profitable lines and those which are not. The “next world” also goes through this.  "

Pontivy station will reopen its doors in a year. Cap, whistle and SNCF badge , the outfit of station master Jean-Philippe Van Walleghem is already ready. He is convinced: the train will whiste le again three times in central Brittany.

I visited Pontivy station last Friday (25 September 2020), and things are progressing very well. The renovation of the station building is almost complete, with just a couple of window panes, and the interior fittings and exterior signs to be completed. Similarly, the bus/rail interchange only really needs to be marked out to be ready.

I had access trackside, where work to bring the platforms up to modern standards has begun, and as luck would have it, a freight train happened to be in while I was there.

As an aside, a Covid-19 testing tent is also available in the station area.

Photos of all of the above, and of the rail route through the town taken at various vantage points, can be found here.

More good news - Association Chemins de fer de Center-Bretagne (CFCB) have concluded an operating and circulation agreement with SNCF Reseau to run tourist trains from Pontivy southwards to Lambel Camors from next summer. These will initially run on Wednesdays and Sundays, which are the 2 days per week that no freight paths are scheduled.

If this is successful, then a joint passenger/freight operating agreement will be sought to expand the number of operating days, and extend towards the junction with the main line at Auray, which is served by TGVs^▸ (Train a Grande Vitesse) to Rennes and Paris, and local trains to Quimper, Lorient and Vannes. The ultimate aim is to have a 7 days a week "national rail" SNCF service from Pontivy-Auray providing all of the above connections, coexisting with freight trains, and with tourist trains that would continue to run in the summer months.

Could something similar work in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)? Now, there's an idea...

[Hal]

SNCF^▸ (Societe Nationale des Chemins de fer Francais - French National Railways) said today it will cancel up to 70% of TGV^▸ (Train a Grande Vitesse) services from Wednesday as the new lockdown - Reconfinement - has begun across France.

Occupancy of mainline trains has dropped to 15% from about 50% last week, as new rules prevent people from leaving their homes except in specified circumstances (work, medical appointment, food shopping etc). The Reconfinement will last for a minimum of four weeks from midnight 29 October.

[Hal]

Railcoop has just published an update on its projects on its website www.railcoop.fr

Its first aim is to launch a freight service operating out of Toulouse in mid-2021. Then it aims to restart passenger trains from Bordeaux to Lyon, with a target date of June 2022.
It says it is already in talks to buy some second-hand rolling stock for this line.

After that it wants to run two other lines: from Toulouse to Rennes in Brittany, and from Lyon to Thionville in the northeast (near the Luxembourg border).

Longer-term Railcoop wants to run long-distance sleeper trains.

[stuving]

I wonder how that will look next month! There was a news item on F2 Tuesday night based on a report to be submitted to parliament in March, coupled to what the boss of SNCF^▸ (Societe Nationale des Chemins de fer Francais - French National Railways) said to a parliamentary committee in December. I've not found anything more about it - no-one else has picked it up, and I'm not sure what the report is (or even what a rapport d'état ought to be). The news is on line at francetvinfo (item starts about 3:20), and this is their summary:

Le train, le moyen de transport de l'avenir ?

Un rapport d'État concernant les moyens de transport les plus polluants devrait être présentés aux parlementaires en mars. Comment concurrencer l’avion et la voiture tout en désenclavant les territoires les plus isolés ? La solution passe peut-être par le ferroviaire.

Apres le TGV^▸ (Train a Grande Vitesse), la France pourrait aiguiller sa politique ferroviaire vers les trains interrégionaux. Selon un rapport d’État, les grandes lignes entre régions pourraient faire leur retour en force, avec par exemple la création d’une ligne entre Toulouse (Haute-Garonne) et Lyon (Rhône), en passant par Avignon (Vaucluse). "Ce serait le top, c’est sûr, témoigne un usager. Moi il m’arrive de rester en transit à la gare de Nîmes (Gard) trois heures". Faire Toulouse-Avignon en train impose pour le moment une correspondance de 23 minutes à Nîmes, pour 3h33 de voyage au total, contre 3h20 en voiture. Le rapport propose ainsi de prolonger la ligne Bordeaux-Marseille jusqu’à Nice (Alpes-Maritimes), ou de créer des axes Toulouse-Lyon, Metz-Grenoble ou Nantes-Lille.
Nouvel aménagement des territoires

De nouvelles rames coûteraient 170 millions d’euros. "C’est une nouvelle conception de l’aménagement des territoires qui prend en compte l’ensemble de ces petites villes qui structurent la ruralité et qui aujourd’hui n’ont plus que des petits TER pour aller à leur chef-lieu de département, mais plus du tout de relations interrégionales", explique Joël Giraud, secrétaire d’État chargé de la ruralité.

It's not clear whether they are literally talking about building new "classique" lines, just to avoid a 23 minute wait. Or are they just proposing new services, which is hardly such a big deal. And as to whether small towns really would get a range of inter-regional services stopping there ... well, how? Somewhere in a report about the impact of a region (Hauts-d-France in this case) taking full control over minor lines and getting another contractor than SNCF to run them, I read that better, longer, services than current TERs would be possible by stopping at fewer places. True, but of course you can't please all the people, can you?

[stuving]

About the revived sleeper trains, French press reports quote transport minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari as saying the first would be on the Paris-Nice line, and the second would link Paris with the Pyreneen city of Tarbes.

The new (or resumed) Paris-Nice night train did start with its first run last night. The only English report I can find is pre-reporting from yesterday, but it did happen as described - complete with Castex making the PA^▸ (Public Address (broadcast loudspeaker announcements) or Passenger Assist (railway staff providing physical assistance to passengers with mobility issues), depending on context) welcome announcement. What the fares will settle down at, and how much subsidy that will involve, is hard to say.
From RFI:

French PM to inaugurate newly resumed Paris-Nice night train service
Issued on: 20/05/2021 - 17:00

Planned for 16 April and then postponed due to the Covid-19 health crisis, the Paris-Nice night train leaves this evening for the first time in three years, with French Prime Minister Jean Castex as an honorary passenger. The resumption of the service is part of a government push for 'greener' transport options.

The French Prime Minister Jean Castex is due to inaugurate the night-time Intercités train at the Austerlitz station before sleeping in a first class carriage: departure at 8.52pm, arrival at 09.11am on Friday on the French Riviera. The journey will take a twelve hours, compared to less than six hours by TGV^▸ (Train a Grande Vitesse).

This launch "highlights a virtuous mode of transport that contributes to the opening up of the regions. Nice is ultra-connected for the upper classes but less so for students and others," the Prime Minister's entourage told French news agency AFP.

Tickets start at 19 euros for a reclining seat, 29 euros for a second class sleeper and 39 euros for a first class sleeper.

Massive investment in the rail sector

The Paris-Nice Intercités, which stopped its operation in December 2017 due to a lack of profitability, will connect Paris-Austerlitz and Nice-Ville every day in both directions, with six stops including Marseille, Toulon and Cannes.

With this long route in his agenda, Castex wants to highlight a "rapid concretisation of the government's recovery plan", which has earmarked 5.3 billion euros for the rail sector, including 100 million euros for night trains.

It provides 50 million for the refurbishment of 51 night carriages and another 50 million for the reception of passengers and the adaptation of workshops.

...

[Lee]

More good news - Association Chemins de fer de Center-Bretagne (CFCB) have concluded an operating and circulation agreement with SNCF^▸ (Societe Nationale des Chemins de fer Francais - French National Railways) Reseau to run tourist trains from Pontivy southwards to Lambel Camors from next summer. These will initially run on Wednesdays and Sundays, which are the 2 days per week that no freight paths are scheduled.

If this is successful, then a joint passenger/freight operating agreement will be sought to expand the number of operating days, and extend towards the junction with the main line at Auray, which is served by TGVs^▸ (Train a Grande Vitesse) to Rennes and Paris, and local trains to Quimper, Lorient and Vannes. The ultimate aim is to have a 7 days a week "national rail" SNCF service from Pontivy-Auray providing all of the above connections, coexisting with freight trains, and with tourist trains that would continue to run in the summer months.

Could something similar work in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)? Now, there's an idea...

The big day has arrived - Today Pontivy Interchange has opened, and the first tourist train has run:

[Richard Fairhurst]

Nicely timed to coincide with the Tour de France's visit to Pontivy, too!

[Lee]

Nicely timed to coincide with the Tour de France's visit to Pontivy, too!

Indeed - We had half-price rail singles and a €1 flat fare bus ticket offer for the duration of the Tour de France being in Brittany as well.

[Lee]

More good news - Association Chemins de fer de Center-Bretagne (CFCB) have concluded an operating and circulation agreement with SNCF^▸ (Societe Nationale des Chemins de fer Francais - French National Railways) Reseau to run tourist trains from Pontivy southwards to Lambel Camors from next summer. These will initially run on Wednesdays and Sundays, which are the 2 days per week that no freight paths are scheduled.

If this is successful, then a joint passenger/freight operating agreement will be sought to expand the number of operating days, and extend towards the junction with the main line at Auray, which is served by TGVs^▸ (Train a Grande Vitesse) to Rennes and Paris, and local trains to Quimper, Lorient and Vannes. The ultimate aim is to have a 7 days a week "national rail" SNCF service from Pontivy-Auray providing all of the above connections, coexisting with freight trains, and with tourist trains that would continue to run in the summer months.

Could something similar work in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)? Now, there's an idea...

The big day has arrived - Today Pontivy Interchange has opened, and the first tourist train has run:

I visited Pontivy Interchange last Wednesday (22 September 2021) and travelled on the tourist train. Report and pictures can be found here.

The summer operating season is now over, and the tourist trains have been more successful than anyone dare hoped, selling out every single service since the beginning of August. They are now taking a short break before resuming Winter/Santa specials in November, which I am sure will prove just as popular.

Although you obviously cant read everything into the performance of tourist trains, one cannot help but be encouraged as we continue to prepare for eventual full "national rail" reopening between Pontivy-Auray, for which - as I have mentioned on the forum before - the ball is now very much in our court:

Whilst in the UK, the idea of mixing national rail and heritage operations is viewed as radical and controversial, over here in Brittany it is far more commonplace. The Guingamp-Paimpol line has a national rail service during the winter months, and this is mixed with a steam service timetable over part of the route between Pontrieux-Paimpol during the summer months.

Similarly, once the final phase of the Pontivy Reopening Project is complete, there will be a national rail service between Auray-Pontivy during the winter months, mixed with a heritage tourist train operation during the summer months.

What we are waiting for with Pontivy is the completion of the development, construction and deployment of our own battery trains, which will also provide additional services on non-electrified routes such as Guingamp-Carhaix, Guingamp-Paimpol and Saint Brieuc-Dinan-Dol. These additional services cant be provided at present because a) we dont have sufficient spare DMU^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) rolling stock and b) even if we did, our budget wouldnt stretch to the level of subsidy that, at least initially, would be required to operate those additional services with them.

Our experts tell us that once operational, our battery trains operating costs would be low enough to break even with just a handful of passengers on board per service, and as broadgage suggests for the WSR, we see them as the way forward for such services to be both economically and environmentally viable into the future.

I had my work hat very much on throughout my visit, and gained a lot of very useful insights. I will in the next few days post in "How Stuff Works" an overview of how our reopening business cases are progressing, and the processes we are going through.

[stuving]

Railcoop's first trains have started running! This is the goods service between Toulouse and Decazeville in the Aveyron. They are using elderly wagons and as a cooperative presumably have lower labour costs (even if not actually employing volunteers). Here's a report from RailTech.com:

A new operator entered the rail freight market in France, and with a new concept. Railcoop, a rail cooperative currently counting more than 9,000 members, just launched its first rail freight service linking the Aveyron and Lot regions with the Toulouse-St-Jory logistics hub.

The new rail freight service will cover a distance of 180 kilometres, reviving a line that has been closed by SNCF^▸ (Societe Nationale des Chemins de fer Francais - French National Railways) since 2014. Despite being inactive for so many years, the line connects two important economic centres (Decazeville and Toulouse-St-Jory), which, according to Railcoop, are essential for the French supply chain and should reconnect.

First freight, then passengers

The service runs as of Monday 15 November with three weekly roundtrips. Starting from January 2022, it will offer one roundtrip per day. The transported cargo comprises mainly agricultural and industrial products. To launch the first train service, the cooperative leased 24 wagons from Ermewa and two locomotives from DB^» (Deutsche Bahn - German State Railway - about) Cargo, which will be operated by two drivers.

Railcoop is not only entering the rail freight business, but also has plans to launch passenger services. The first service, Bordeaux-Lyon, had to delayed by six months however, because the requested train paths have not been allocated by infrastructure manager SNCF Réseau. The launch date is now expected to be on 11 December 2022, instead of the planned start in June 2022.

Regional single-wagon traffic

Railcoop focuses on reviving regional rail freight links that have been disused but remain essential for the economic growth of smaller decentralised towns and communities. Its service promotes single-wagon trains that do not need to be bundled. Moreover, the cooperative’s goal is to palletise every single wagon.

“We want to create a shuttle that will load small volumes on demand by repackaging as it was forty years ago, without having to order entire wagons”, explained to the french media Dominique Guerrée, volunteer president of Railcoop. As for the customers, Guerrée accepts the fact that they are not easy to attract. However, the cooperative has some agreements in place, and if everything goes by plan, it could launch more services.

The first passenger route, Bordeaux-Lyon, wasn't approved by SNCF Réseau for next June, but paths have now been found for it to still start before the end of the year. Railcoop only started a couple of years ago, so to start operating so soon suggests that the French reputation for opaque bureaucracy and protecting state businesses isn't justified now.

Could the same thing be done here? Go-op suggests not. But they may not be picking the right thing to do, or not be any good at doing it; it's hard to make a realistic comparison. Orion has been as quick, but that's a commercial operation, and in a non-competing line of business. And we don't know if it will succeed.

[Hal]

https://www.ladepeche.fr/2021/12/31/lot-feu-vert-de-lautorite-des-transports-a-lentreprise-railcoop-pour-ses-lignes-ferroviaires-10021254.php

According to this press report today, Railcoop has moved a step closer to starting passenger services, by obtaining approval from France's Transport Regulation Authority to operate on six lines.

Services from Bordeaux to Lyon are due to begin on 11 December 2022. The six newly approved services will follow, beginning 2023. They are: Lille-Nantes, Strasbourg-Clermont-Ferrand, Massy-Brest, Saint-Étienne-Thionville, Grenoble-Thionville and Le Croisic-Bâle.

The report quotes a member of the co-operative as saying there is still a lot of work to do before operations can commence - including buying trains and recruiting staff.

Still, it all seems to be going well so far.