The Minister of Transport Clément Beaune set up, on Friday February 3, 2023, in Limoges, the quarterly working group on the Paris-Orléans-Limoges-Toulouse (Polt) line, bringing together elected officials, user associations and economic players, in particular Indians.
To say that the Minister Delegate for Transport, Clément Beaune, and the CEO of the SNCF, Jean-Pierre Farandou, did not arrive on conquered ground, Friday March 3, 2023, in Limoges, is a mild understatement. They were first greeted on the forecourt of the town hall, where the installation of the working group on the Polt line was taking place, by a handful of demonstrators giving voice and a hedge of elected officials, economic actors and local users reassembled.
Those inside were no less so. Clément Beaune therefore immediately endeavored to defuse the situation. The Minister felt that it should not be a question “one more meeting, one more working group”. He then conceded that the Polt needs a “expected and necessary legitimate catch-up following long decades of insufficient investment”. For him, “the absolute priority is the network”.
Maintenance, station service and accessibility
The minister mentioned the 100 billion euros of investments for the railway by 2040 recently announced by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne. In the shorter term, he cited “by the end of this legislature, the 50% increase in investment in the network” and the almost 2.5 billion investment by the State and the SNCF in the Polt.
For his part, Jean-Pierre Farandou, CEO of SNCF, acknowledged that “the work might be a source of misunderstanding”. On the form, he announced his intention to proceed from now on according to the triptych « information, anticipation, transparence ». On the merits, the SNCF will carry out “increased equipment maintenance, improved service in stations and their accessibility”.
“Telling the truth to those who take the train”
The deputy of Indre, François Jolivet, urged the SNCF to “make sure to tell the truth to those who take the train and warn them of the work”. Senator Frédérique Gerbaud regretted “impressive damage”wondering “How are we going to be able to continue to have mobility in our territories? » She also asked: “Where are we with freight? How will night train traffic evolve? »
His colleague Nadine Bellurot, by videoconference from the Senate, asked “financial visibility, a calendar and regular monitoring, a permanent dialogue placed in trust” insisting on the “need service” in India.
In response, the CEO of the SNCF network, Matthieu Chabanel, mentioned the 789 million euros devoted to the regeneration of the Polt since 2018. An amount increased to 1.6 billion by 2026, including 105 million for the Center- Loire valley. He also announced a modernization of the line, with in particular a “reinforcement of the electric power allowing to reaccelerate much more quickly following the stations”, essential with a view to the delivery of new trains, announced between summer 2025 and the end of 2026.
Full refund for delays over three hours
Finally, the CEO of SNCF Voyageurs, Christophe Faniche, conceded the “full refund of customers for delays of more than three hours”, from 2023.
In conclusion, Frédérique Gerbaud praised “the start of better consultation, better monitoring, of the minister’s commitments, particularly for small stations”. Progress to be confirmed at the next working group meeting in June.
