The French state has ordered 15 TGV trains to run on the Bordeaux-Marseille intercity line. Although much more expensive to purchase than standard intercity trains, the TGVs will help keep open the Alstom factory at Belfort, in eastern France, which had been threatened with closure. Four hundred jobs will be saved by what the Financial Times refers to as the order of “unneeded trains”. The Government’s decision comes despite the fact that usage of long-distance train services has fallen by 20 percent over the last five years. Losses on intercity lines are expected to total €400 million in 2016.
TGV trains are designed to travel at up to 320 km/h against an intercity speed of 200 km/h. While TGV trains cost up to €30 million each, intercity trains cost considerably less to build and 30 percent less to operate.
In the face of competition from low-cost flights and in order to save money, most of France’s iconic overnight long-distance train services have been scrapped. And since fares have risen considerably over the past few years it appears that there is no room for fare increases on the SNCF network.