2023-06-22 13:41:28
Victim of its success, the SNCF expects even more vacationers this summer on its trains, while its capacity remains limited. For July and August, 500,000 additional tickets were sold compared to last year, a spectacular increase in demand which led the railway company to work on extending its TGV trains.
This program with the evocative name, « Botox », aims to extend the life of current TGVs three to ten years old. “For us, this is a real change in industrial trajectory”, comments Alain Krakovitch, director of the TGV and Intercités activity, since from now on, trains could be brought to last not “35 years old but 40 years old, 45 years old or 50 years old”. This is also an answer “both to a very high train occupancy rate and to ecological concerns”adds next to The cross Charlotte Caillaux, SNCF press manager.
The objective is to keep TGVs “still quite viable” she details. They would then be reviewed twice in its time of activity, instead of just one big renovation, currently “mid-life”.
Sustainable movement
This implies the creation of additional maintenance centers in the country – there are currently five – but the SNCF does not yet give figures. The upgrade, which would begin in 2026, would concern “several dozen oars” out of a current fleet of 415 trains, but the exact figure has not yet been determined.
According to Arnaud Aymé, at Sia Partners, this increase in demand for the train will continue. “Behaviours have changed since the Covid, people want to travel more, which widens the peak periods and saturation of trains”, he observes. Added to this societal movement is a ” political will “. The Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, thus promised in February 100 billion euros of investment by 2040. “It’s not a flash in the pan, it’s sustainable”analyzes Arnaud Aymé.
The SNCF will try to follow this trend, thanks to the upcoming arrival of the TGV M (end of 2024-beginning of 2025) which offer 20% more seats compared to current trains. The railway company has ordered 115, and 24 will be in service at the end of 2026. By 2027, SNCF will also have 50 Ouigo trains instead of the current 38, in order to develop this very popular low-cost offer.
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