2023-09-28 00:00:00
Although SNCF Viajeros has been intervening for years in all stages of the useful life of its trains to improve their use, the French Railways has now embarked on a program to further prolong the useful life of its rolling stock.
(27/09/2023)
SNCF Voyageurs aims to double the modal share of trains over the next decade and meet the demand of an increasing number of travelers choosing the train.
To achieve this goal, SNCF Viajeros is changing its philosophy to extend the useful life of the trains, which is complemented by other actions undertaken for several years, such as the order for 115 TGV Inoui trains; the increase of the Ouigo fleet from 38 to fifty trains; and the intensification of the use of rolling stock.
The number of TGV seats on sale is higher today than five years ago, with an increase of almost 10 percent, due in particular to the introduction of double-decker trains and the development of the Ouigo offer. Thus, a new program has been launched to strengthen the TGV offer and satisfy demand. This new program, called Botox, will affect 104 TGV trains, which will be evaluated at the end of the first quarter of 2024.
Train status and structure
The aspects that are taken into account to decide the future of the train are the condition, the structure including the metal part and the bogies, as well as the electrical installations. Considering these elements, trains can correspond to three categories. On the one hand, those that are in perfect condition and continue to function, with a possible renovation to improve comfort; those that require improvement in reliability and more important renovations because they have exceeded their useful life; and those that must be amortized and whose parts are obsolete (components, electronics or chassis). These depreciated trains will be stored, as they contain up to 3,000 potentially recoverable and reusable parts for other trains.
The trains whose useful life extends between two and four years will circulate in 2026 on the Atlantic Axis, and this will require a one-year review of the train. Trains whose useful life is extended by ten years will be studied for three years, with a view to their progressive entry into service until 2033. Double-decker trains, for example, will benefit from a useful life extension of ten years. The cost of renovating all these trains is estimated at several hundred million euros, and will be entirely financed by SNCF Viajeros.
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