Orange with Media Services, published on Friday, April 08, 2022 at 2:24 PM
The SNCF “is the ally of the purchasing power of the French”, assured the CEO of SNCF Voyageurs, Christophe Fanichet.
Rising energy prices will not affect train tickets this year. This is what Christophe Fanichet, CEO of SNCF Voyageurs, promised during a press conference, quoted by BFM Business this Friday, April 8.
And for good reason: “95% of our energy in 2022 will be purchased“We buy our electricity two to three years in advance,” he explained, indicating that adjustments will be made that will have an impact for the operator of “several tens of millions of euros”.
The SNCF therefore promises “do not increase ticket prices this year”, the company “is the ally of the purchasing power of the French,” added Christophe Fanichet. On the other hand, “we don’t know how prices will evolve† Do I cover myself today for 2023 and the years after that or do we wait and see? But one thing is certain: next year the additional costs for SNCF could amount to a few hundred million euros,” continues the CEO of SNCF Voyageurs.
The UTP asked for an extra push from the government
On March 30, the Union of Public Transport and Rail Transport (UTP) asked Prime Minister Jean Castex an extra boost to mitigate the impact of rising energy prices. While welcoming the economic and social resilience plan presented on March 16, which includes measures that “go in the right direction” such as the 15 cents per liter of fuel cut, “it is clear that the latter won’t be enough, confirmed the UTP in a letter addressed to the head of government.
“There is urgency to support our companies at very short notice”, insists on the organization of operators. It calls for a simplified mechanism for the payment of aid subsidies provided to “enterprises whose expenditure on gas and electricity” much of the cost”. The UTP also calls for “increasing the share of the domestic consumption tax on energy products (TICPE) repaid to the public transport sector on diesel and biodiesel”.
Finally, she regrets that only road transport benefits “from sectoral support of up to EUR 400 million” at this stage. This aid concerns 520,000 vehicles and will vary from EUR 200 for light commercial vehicles to EUR 1,000 for coaches and EUR 1,300 for road tractors. “For obvious reasons of equality between the modes of transport, the UTP is calling for the immediate implementation of the same direct support system for rail carriers,” the union urged.
It estimates “the impact of rising energy costs (non-road diesel + electricity) on rail operators” up to 52 million euros per year.
