‘The pie is big’: French railways open up to European rivals
Italian and Spanish high-speed train operators and start-ups challenge the dominance of state-owned SNCF
This summer, a high-speed train from Paris to Marseille ran under Italian colours for the first time, the latest dent in national operator SNCF’s dominant position in French rail.
François, who recently travelled for a business trip from Paris to Aix-en-Provence on that route, found the €192 return ticket with Trenitalia relatively affordable and, crucially, available after SNCF tickets sold out.
“The train was full of people discovering something for the first time, in a good-spirited mood. It’s not like travelling with SNCF, which we’ve all done a thousand times,” he said.
Rail travel has grown in popularity since the Covid-19 pandemic as taxes on airlines and greater environmental awareness have pushed travellers towards greener modes of transport.
Now European operators are eyeing the French high-speed rail market, the largest on the continent, which is being further opened up.
Trenitalia’s service to Marseille comes in addition to the Paris-Lyon-Milan route it opened in 2021. Spanish operator Renfe is also growing its presence in France, while start-ups are raising cash.
Cross-Channel operator Eurostar, a subsidiary of state-owned SNCF, is also facing high demand and the prospect of new competitors.
SNCF and its subsidiaries, including Eurostar, operated 98 per cent of all high-speed rail travel last year. But they expect to face competition on a third of all lines by 2030, principally on their most popular routes.
“I hope SNCF is threatened. That’s the point of competition. The incumbent needs to improve its service,” said Laurent Fourtune, chief executive of a new low-cost operator called Kevin Speed.
France first opened up to competition on high-speed lines in 2020, as part of a string of EU reforms to liberalise railways. However, it has lagged behind other markets such as Italy, where competition has already contributed to lower prices.
Paris enabled other operators to run services, in a process known as open access, rather than privatising the rail network, as has occurred in the UK. Operators pay tolls to SNCF Réseau the division of the rail company charged with maintaining the network.
Last year, French high-speed railways boasted a record 67bn passenger-kilometres — an industry metric measuring total distance covered by all travellers, according to France’s Authority for Transport Regulation (ART).
In addition to Trenitalia, Spanish operator Renfe has launched international routes from Lyon to Barcelona and from Marseille to Madrid, although it recently delayed the planned 2025 launch of cross-border services to Toulouse.
Other French newcomers yet to launch new services include Proxima, which will operate routes including from Paris to Bordeaux and to Rennes; Le Train, which is also set to run services in western France; and Kevin Speed, whose short-haul services will include routes from Paris to Lyon and Lille.
Tim Jackson, co-founder of Proxima, has ordered 12 trains from French maker Alstom and said he expected to run 40-50 services per day within several years. Explaining the attractiveness of France, Jackson said the total volume of the French Atlantic region is bigger than Eurostar or Spain’s high-speed rail market. “The pie is big,” he added.
For rail consultant Edouard Homberg, the arrival of new services is largely positive for customers. “SNCF is starting to adjust its prices so there is a price-lowering effect that we see already, and there is an effect on the quality of service that we also see.”
SNCF Voyageurs, which is responsible for running the group’s rail services, was forced to cut fares even before the arrival of its Italian and Spanish rivals, with prices rising less than inflation across the whole network since 2019, according to ART figures.
“We know that the French market is attractive so we’ve been preparing for their arrival for a long time,” said Tanguy Cotte-Martinon, secretary-general at SNCF Voyageurs.
But the risk is that some lines will not face the same benefits and increased competition will weigh on SNCF’s ability to fund less popular routes. “[New operators] are commercial businesses, not providers of public services. They are going where it’s profitable for them to go,” Homberg said.
New service providers negotiate settlements with SNCF Réseau to pay lower tolls in the first three years of operation.
However, Trenitalia and Renfe have just a 1 per cent market share each so far, according to ART. Several challenges have kept competition limited.
Landslides in the Alps in 2023 have curtailed rail services from Paris to Milan, meaning Trenitalia lost about 900,000 fares over 19 months and was prevented from maintaining trains in Italy, said Marco Caposciutti, chief executive of Trenitalia France.
He warned that another challenge was higher network tolls in France than Italy. “For the first years of service, it’s impossible to gain money because the fixed costs are very, very high”, he said.
Meanwhile some would-be operators such as Le Train have suffered delays linked to obtaining trains. The group had planned to launch in 2025 but has yet to receive trains made by Spanish company Talgo.
SNCF has also suffered delays on the delivery of its new double-decker high-speed trains from Alstom.
“We are seeing congestion in the delivery of new trains . . . it’s often what causes problems: the operators don’t have all the trains they need,” said Hélène Vasseur, commercial director of SNCF Réseau.
While SNCF Voyageurs faces new rivals, network manager SNCF Réseau is benefiting from competition, as more trains increase the tolls it earns. “We need this competition to invest in the network,” said Vasseur.
The French market remains attractive for new operators and potential investors — Proxima is funded by a €1bn investment from Antin infrastructure partners.
Kevin Speed, which hopes to launch its first services in 2030, has enlisted banks to raise a similar level of funds on its behalf by the end of the year, said chief financial officer Guy Saidenberg.
Speaking in offices at a busy Gare du Nord station where the distinctive four-note SNCF jingle plays out, Kevin Speed’s Fourtune said he expects other operators to follow suit.
“France is the biggest market in Europe. It’s not going to open twice.”