To compensate for its disengagement, is the State counting on SNCF going into debt?

This is one of the breakthroughs of the Ambition France Transport (AFT) financing conference. On Wednesday, July 9, Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot announced that a future bill "will set in stone the target of an additional €1.5 billion" for network regeneration "starting in 2028."

"A historic decision that will directly benefit our customers, the regions, and the rail industry," Jean-Pierre Farandou told AFP. A personal victory for the current CEO of the SNCF group, who has been warning since at least 2022 about the consequences of gray debt in existing rail infrastructure.

As a reminder, according to the SNCF, by 2028-2030, 4,000 kilometers of lines "could be affected by an irreversible collapse in the quality of service" if no additional investment was earmarked. To avoid a railway bankruptcy, as early as 2023, the State had set SNCF Réseau the objective of increasing the annual amount of investments for the regeneration of the network by 1.5 billion euros, or 4.5 billion in total.

From the Ministry of Transport, Philippe Tabarot presented three levers to achieve these objectives. SNCF, through its contribution to the network regeneration competition fund, will have to provide an additional 500 million, the maximum the group says it can afford.

The private sector will then be approached through Public-Private Partnerships. "In such a scheme, investments made by private stakeholders would be subsequently reimbursed by targeted toll increases on the routes that have undergone modernization work or by rents paid by SNCF Réseau," the Ambition France Transport report emphasizes.

Through this, the infrastructure manager estimates it can release around €200 million annually for modernization projects between 2028 and 2032. Finally, the State will use energy savings certificates (CEE) for an amount of around €300 million, announced Philippe Tabarot.

So, on paper, 500 million euros remain to be allocated before the full equalization of the 2.5 billion euros that the State intends to allocate from future motorway concessions to existing mobility.

"The financing needs of everyday rail can no longer be denied. This consensus is a major step forward. Our network is lagging far behind. Awareness has been raised: the electric car is not the be-all and end-all of future low-carbon travel," said Jean-Luc Gibelin, a member of the AFT rail workshop. The PCF vice-president of the Occitanie region is now calling for the "implementation" of the measures included in the financing conference report, during François Bayrou's budget announcements scheduled for Tuesday, July 15.

The report calls, in particular, for the gradual elimination of the reduced TICPE rate benefiting road hauliers, planned for 2030 (€1.2 billion), to be directed towards all forms of mobility. The rerouting of a larger share of the air ticket tax (TSBA) towards transport. Or the creation of a tax on home parcel delivery in urban areas.

This latest measure, pushed by the PCF's transport committee during the financing conference, could generate between 50 and 200 million. "It is regrettable that the office tax, which has proven its worth for the Grand Paris Express metros and which could bring in 2 billion per year, was not retained by the financing conference," laments Jacques Baudrier, PCF administrator at Ile-de-France Mobilités.

Furthermore, through Philippe Tabarot, the executive has already closed the door on the proposal for a temporary tax on train tickets, which was not unanimously supported at the financing conference. Also out is a fairer contribution from SNCF's competitors , who benefit from discounts on rail tolls.

In fact, without new allocations, SNCF could be forced to borrow to maintain the existing network. The Ambition France Transports report also suggests that the railway company resort to borrowing "on an ad hoc and limited basis to avoid worsening debt ratios."

A prospect that worries the CGT Cheminots union . "The SNCF and railway workers will be put to the test by increased productivity, which is accompanied by a reduction in social rights," says Romain Pitelet. For the deputy secretary of the railway workers' federation, "the SNCF will have to free up cash to compensate for a new disengagement by the State." According to the CGT union member, "the increase in debt can serve as a pretext for a new railway reform." He added that "the 2018 reform, which opened up the SNCF to competition and broke it up, was achieved through debt blackmail, part of which was absorbed by the State, despite being the contracting authority."