“I salute the work of Luc Lallemand as President of SNCF Réseau”, tweeted Minister Delegate for Transport Clément Beaune on Wednesday. “He was able to carry out major reforms in a difficult context,” he added as the announcement of his replacement became effective. And it will be Matthieu Chabanel, his former number two, who will replace him, said the Ministry of the Economy.
“A new stage is now beginning, with the priority mission of the quality of our rail network for the benefit of users,” said Clément Beaune. And the joint press release from the two ministries specifies: “To carry out this mission, the government intends to give new impetus to the governance of SNCF Réseau by calling on Matthieu Chabanel, an industrialist with recognized experience in the rail sector and having forged strong ties with all stakeholders. »
The 46-year-old man still has to get the green light from the Transport Regulatory Authority (ART) to lead SNCF Réseau. He left the company this summer to join La Poste.
The departure of Luc Lallemand comes as SNCF Réseau has just signed a “performance contract” with the State which, despite an increase in credits, is unanimously deemed insufficient to renovate and modernize the French railways. Like SNCF CEO Jean-Pierre Farandou – the boss of his parent company – Luc Lallemand has pleaded in recent months for more credit. In particular, he clashed with many elected officials, who criticized him for an overly strict approach to the financial objectives imposed by the State, at the risk of jeopardizing insufficiently funded projects.