Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne is to announce on Friday February 24 a plan of 100 billion euros by 2040 for rail transport, the first concretization of which will be the launch of “Metropolitan RER” in large French cities, Matignon said on Thursday.
This amount, which corresponds to the estimate of the needs launched by the CEO of the SNCF Jean-Pierre Farandou (who envisaged this expenditure over fifteen years) will not be entirely provided by the State, but will have to be shared by all the stakeholders. , communities, operators and investors, according to the entourage of the Prime Minister.
Elisabeth Borne must launch this “new railway deal” by receiving a report from the Infrastructure Orientation Council (COI), a college made up of elected officials and experts responsible for sorting out the various projects, whether rail, road or river.
Ecological planning
“A historic investment”, reacted the Minister of Transport Clément Beaune, on Twitter.
???? A historic investment for our transport! A central contribution to the ecological transition. An essential effort for the rail network.
We are up to it and on the rendezvous ???????????? https://t.co/42Ym53XQW5— Clement Beaune (@CBeaune) February 23, 2023
The government intends to base itself, among the COI proposals, on a so-called scenario “ecological planning”, according to Matignon. This moves away from the current budgetary framework to add investments judged “the most relevant to facilitate modal shift (from road to public transport editor’s note) and decarbonization”.
Giving priority to the modernization of the rail network and daily transport, the scenario also wants to emphasize the renovation of roads and waterways, but excludes the rapid realization of “Structuring projects eagerly awaited by some, (…) road or motorway”according to a near-definitive version published by the Context news site in January.
Metropolitan RERs
It provides for a marked increase in the resources made available by the State, from 2023 and until 2042. The bill would be 84.3 billion euros over the period 2023-2027. In March, the government intends to launch discussions with the regions and partners concerned in order to have a precise planning of transport infrastructure investments in June.
Elisabeth Borne must announce on Friday, according to those around her, ” the starting point “ metropolitan RERs, suburban connections around large provincial cities, which should not be only rail. “We are going to discuss with each region to define what the metropolitan RER will be”Then “go into the realization”.
The Société du Grand Paris (SGP), which is currently building the Grand Paris metro around the capital, will be ” the pilot “ of this project alongside SNCF Réseau, indicated Matignon.
“We will seek external sources of funding, in particular from sectors that emit more greenhouse gases in the field of transport”explains the services of the Prime Minister.