On the most profitable course of France, the French group muscle its offer and refines its strategy to counter its Italian rival.
by
“Freccarossa, the pleasure of a new trip.” Bright red, the big poster overlooks the departure table of Lyon train station, in Paris, such as a scarlet shade over the SNCF. This advertisement is that of the “red arrow” (Frecciaossa), the TGV brand of the Italian Public Operator Trenitalia, who will soon compete with the SNCF on the high-speed line (LGV) Paris-Lyon, the most borrowed from France. And the most profitable.
When will the first French TGV competitor come to happen? The rumor predicts the Big Bang for mid-December, on the occasion of the entry into force of the Time Grid 2022. Announced for years, the threat, this time, is about to materialize.
So it’s all but a coincidence that the SNCF presented, Tuesday, October 19, a renovation of his inclusive TGV offer on the connection … Paris-Lyon. The historical French operator does not hide. “Forty years, precisely, after its inauguration, and at the moment when the market opens to competition, the Paris-Lyon line turns a new page,” says Christophe Fanichet, the CEO of SNCF travelers, the 13,000 operator Daily traveler trains of the group.
“Mounted in range”
In fact, this answer, the SNCF concocts it for a long time. The development of TGV low cost Ouigo over almost a decade is the most striking element. But the willing will, from 2019, by Trenitalia to embark on Paris-Lyon mobilized it even more. A specific team – internal code name “Riposte” – has been responsible for refining SNCF travel defense, the entity that manages TGVs and intercities. “Our strategy for Paris-Lyon rests, on the one hand, on the small prices of Ouigo, on the other hand, on the climb of the TGV Inoui,” says Alain Krakovich, the Director General.
Tariff aggression side, the SNCF applied to lock the market. In July 2020, two round trips in TGV Ouigo between Paris Gare de Lyon and Lyon Part-Dieu were put in place. In March 2022 will be added two other ouigo coral round trips at small speed and at very small prices (10 to 30 euros).
In terms of climbing up, the SNCF announced, Tuesday, the rejuvenation of the Inoui TGV fleet circulating between Paris and Lyon. Seventeen new trains of last generation will replace the old days at the beginning of 2022. According to Jean Rouche, director of the southeastern axis, these trains will be both more comfortable and denser: 556 passengers by simple rame , against 509 before. A pass-pass trip made thanks to the removal of many squares (seats vis-à-vis).
You have 41.84% of this article to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.