Perpignan-Figueres high-speed line, opened in 2011. on January 27, is part of the flagship project of the Trans-European Transport Network in South-West Europe. And still a decade later, it is the least used high-speed line in Europe. 1.2 billion euro scandal. 44.4 km connecting France to Spain, between Perpignan and Figueres, with 3 or 4 passenger trains a day, a dozen freight trains and… no regional service, while about a hundred trains could follow each other. On the French side, SNCF offers up to 10 TGVs for Perpignan; On the Spanish side and the Renfe operator, about fifteen AVEs go to Figueras-Villafant every day. And between the two, an abysmal void. How can a line financed by Europe, states, infrastructure managers be so underutilized?
The Franco-Spanish “Elipsos” project launched in 2013 was supposed to consolidateTwo European high-speed (…) specialists to pass on the best of their knowledge, experience and know-how to the international traveller.“We are still reading on the general website created for the occasion, renfe-sncf.com. Elipsos has completely closed the market, not only to the detriment of passengers, but also to the economic relations of Occitania and Catalonia. Finally, Renfe and SNCF, which started hand in hand, have become enemy brothers – to put it mildly – since SNCF’s launch of the Ouigo in Spain, right between Barcelona and Madrid. His dazzling success is viewed very dimly by Renfe, who does not like hunting in his land. This is how the partnership between SNCF and Renfe will end on December 31, 2022, under the pretext that SNCF claims:lack of profitabilityfrom all these directions. Everyone is free to open the lines that sing to him.
Passengers who became victims of the Franco-Spanish railway war
Ten years ago, the signing of an agreement on the operation of high-speed trains between Spain and France provided for about ten trips per day. SNCF offered ten interoperable TGV trains that meet European gauge standards (able to run on both French and Spanish lines), and Renfe offered the same number of AVEs. Guillaume Pepy, then president of the SNCF, praised the merits of this alliance. a contest According to him, it was supposed to destabilize the main competitor – the plane. Fatal error! Air France and low-cost companies like Vueling immediately offered fares that were often cheaper than the train.
In addition, the management of the resources of the sites exploited from Spain is a scandal in itself. Because if it is possible to buy a Paris-Barcelona ticket, it is impossible to buy a Montpellier-Barcelona ticket on the same train, this one interestingly shows “full”. Voluntarily, Elipsos reserves ticket sales for the longest routes… and the most expensive ones first. So we found some incredible examples: there were 40 seats left on the Paris-Barcelona route, but none on this same train, on the much shorter Perpignan-Barcelona route. And finding a spot on the famous 44km between Perpignan and Figueres is quite a feat. Elipsos wants to put them on sale a few days before the date at exorbitant prices. So 44 kilometers are sold at the lowest price and two months ago at €22.90. Which is almost one euro per minute of transport. Allegedly, the lowest price for Paris-Marseille was 210 euros.
Deliberately maintained shortage of supply
And unfortunately, contrary to initial prospects, these trains did not contribute to regional development. It is impossible to make a day trip between Occitania and Catalonia, as business people often claim. Therefore, Elipsos is not interested in regional economic health, nor in reducing the often congested car traffic at the entry and border crossing between the two cities, but in competition with the airliner, regardless of current SNCF president Jean-Pierre Farandou who claims otherwise. .
What will happen after December 31, 2022? SNCF, like Renfe, maintains uncertainty. Depths of War remains the hardware that must be interoperable on both networks. According to our latest information, SNCF has sold six trains to Ouigo Spain so that the latter can continue its rapid expansion. Four trains will remain on the French side, enough to make just two daily round trips between Paris and Barcelona. On Renfe’s side, the Spanish national company currently operates two trains that run a daily Marseille-Barcelona and Lyon-Barcelona round trip. But does he have other trains at his disposal? “Renfe has been struggling to launch services linking Spain with France after SNCF took a unilateral decision to dissolve the Renfe-SNCF partnership in December this year. “explains his spokesperson”.We are in the process of developing HR and administrative procedures to be able to operate in France.»
The news could come from a railway company dependent on Catalonia Railways of the Generalitat de Catalunya. He forces, in support of market studies, with the Occitanie region to create several times a day Toulouse-Barcelona via Narbonne. But this new participant, like “Renfe” with its “Barcelona-Marseille” or “Madrid-Lyon”, will still have a big disadvantage. their tickets will not be offered for sale on SNCF Connect, even for French-French sections such as Marseille-Montpellier. or Toulouse-Perpignan. Furthermore, SNCF discount cards will not be taken into account on these same journeys.
Classic trains. Kafka is there
As for the classic line trains, they do not avoid the Kafkaesque puzzle. There are only two short kilometers between Cerbère in France and the terminal station of Port-au-Beau in Spain. ADIF, the manager of the Spanish network, now requires French drivers to speak Spanish to cover these few hundred meters. So the night train that went to Port-Bou and allowed passengers to continue on the Spanish regional train has now stopped in Serber. Travelers are then invited to pick up their luggage and make it to Spain. SNCF has just announced that Intercités trains will not be exempt from the rule. There are still TERs that continue to circulate, waiting for the Spanish axe. On the Atlantic side, same problem, the TGV can no longer go to Iru but has to stop at Hendaye.
As for the continuation of the TGV line between Montpellier and Perpignan, it has been postponed until 2040. In 1990, I was in school in my hometown of Montpellierbitterly tells the mayor of Montpellier (PS) and president of Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole Michael Delafosse. President Mitterrand and Felipe González, who both embody the opening of Europe, announced the creation of the Paris-Madrid high-speed line. Our Spanish friends have fulfilled their part of the contract (a high-speed line exists from the Spanish border to Madrid, editor’s note). For our part, we explain to them that we still have to wait until 2040. Therefore, Kafka is the main challenge of our country today.. »
Source: Le Figaro
