Eight of the twelve metropolitan regions attacked SNCF Réseau before the Council of State to contest the prices of its rail tolls, according to an article in the media L’Informé, which was confirmed on Wednesday January 10 by the Hauts-de-France region. The regions are protesting against the increases demanded for the years 2024, 2025 and 2026 by SNCF Réseau to run regional express trains (TER), which they finance, and the remainder of which risks being passed on to users .
“Eight regions attacked the decision – taken by the ART [Transport Regulatory Authority] a few months ago – to allow the SNCF network to very significantly increase the cost of tolls,” Agence France reported. -Press (AFP) Franck Dhersin, vice-president in charge of transport in the Hauts-de-France region.
The inflation of rail tolls
The Centre-Val de Loire region also confirmed to AFP that it had filed an appeal with the Orléans administrative court, to contest the price increases proposed by SNCF Réseau for 2024 and the following two years. For example, in New Aquitaine, “an increase of 5.3% for the fee for using the railway infrastructure is planned for 2024, i.e. an additional charge of 11 million euros”, said find out his advice Aurélien Burel at L’Informé. The region would then see rail toll inflation “continue in 2025 with an increase of 4.3%, and again in 2026 with 3%,” according to Mr. Burel.
In a context of high inflation, the ART validated SNCF Réseau’s new pricing policy in February 2023, with some reservations.
The Council of State must examine on Wednesday afternoon the appeals of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Centre-Val de Loire, Hauts-de-France, Ile-de-France, Occitanie, Nouvelle-Aquitaine regions. and Grand-Est. The regions request the cancellation of the tariff provisions of SNCF Réseau and the opinion of the ART. The decision(s) should be rendered in February. SNCF Réseau did not wish to comment on these questions currently under examination on Wednesday.
In its reservations, the ART concluded that SNCF Réseau had set its prices “according to non-transparent methods and without consulting the transport organizing authorities concerned” for the TERs of Burgundy-Franche-Comté, Brittany, Centre-Val de Loire, Grand-Est, Hauts-de-France and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur.