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Publication of a pre-information notice for the competition between the Nantes-Bordeaux and Nantes-Lyon Intercités lines: a new stage in the implementation of the railway reform
The reform for a new railway pact promulgated on June 27, 2018 has made the opening to competition one of the pillars of the transformation for a better public rail service.
Since its adoption by the Parliament, the Government is resolutely engaged in the implementation of this reform, with the objective that it benefits travelers as quickly as possible. This involves, in particular, the preparation of the necessary implementing provisions, such as the order issued on 12 December 2018 containing several measures specifying the framework for opening up to competition.
In the same way as the regions are for the TER, the State is the organizing authority of the territorial equilibrium train lines (TET), now operated by SNCF Mobilités under the name of INTERCITES lines. This operation is governed by an agreement binding the State to the SNCF, renewed in 2016 and which will expire in 2020. For the lines agreed by the public authorities (TER for the regions and TET for the State), the new pact The railway will open up to progressive competition from December 2019, at the pace desired by each organizing authority.
As part of the implementation of this reform and in order to ensure its success, the State has decided to start preparing the competition for the first two TET lines: Nantes-Bordeaux and Nantes-Lyon . The State will publish in the coming days in the Official Journal of the European Union a prior information notice formalizing this approach.
During this competitive bidding process, all candidate operators will be able to showcase their strengths and proposals, and the Government has full confidence in the quality of the bids submitted to it.
With this decision, the state becomes the first organizing authority to engage in the process of opening up to competition. This is a new concrete step in the reform adopted last year which, after the time of debate and its inclusion in the law, enters fully into its implementation phase.
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• Two lines concerned by this prior information notice
This competitive procedure concerns only the operation of the TET Nantes-Bordeaux and Nantes-Lyon lines. These two lines have just benefited from a complete renewal of their trains. Their competition therefore comes in a coherent way as a new stage of their lives opens.
As for all the other TET lines for which the State will remain the organizing authority, they will be the subject of a renewal or modernization of their equipment over the next few years, so it would not be appropriate for the proper functioning. these lines to proceed to their competition during the same period.
• What will be the competition
The contract will consist of operating on behalf of the State, under a public service contract awarded after competition, the two TET Nantes-Bordeaux and Nantes-Lyon lines, as SNCF INTERCITES does today.
In concrete terms, this means that there will not be several competing rail operators on the same line, but only one operator operating these lines, chosen by the State after a call for tenders.
As today, rolling stock will be made available by the State, which has financed it as the organizing authority of these lines.
• The schedule and next steps
The forthcoming publication of this prior information notice is a simple step formalizing the intention of the State, to inform all interested stakeholders of the start of this procedure.
This does not constitute the launching of the call for tenders, which will be able to intervene only within 12 months minimum after this notice, in accordance with the modalities envisaged for the opening to the competition.
Local authorities and user associations will be involved in the definition of the service that will be the subject of this first call for competition.
The tendering procedure can then take place in the course of the years 2020 and 2021, with the objective of starting operations in 2022. |
