On paper, the state seems to have been a good father to his railway daughter. In return at the end of hiring under railway worker status and at the cutting of the SNCF in five public limited companies, in force since January 2020, the state has taken over 25 billion of its 60 billion in debt and will do the same with 10 other billion this year. And to offset the impact of the crisis linked to Covid, he paid him 4.7 billion more, baffled by the Recovery plan.
But all these billions are far from putting the SNCF back on track, worries the Court of Auditors, in two reports of April 13 and 20. If the partial recovery of her debt relieved her of 750 million in financial costs, the pandemic has made drop the number of trains dailies from 37,000 to 15,000. And 2,000 of the 3,000 stations have suffered closures. The most profitable TGV lines have lost 53% of their customers.
The 2020 turnover therefore fell by 14% to 30 billion. And the expected profit of $ 1.8 billion turned into $ 3 billion in losses.
Very bad for the Network subsidiary. Already in 2019 with 4.6 billion in margin in 2019, the Voyageurs subsidiary was unable to pay the 3.5 billion necessary for the renovation of the railways, which are 37 years old on average in France.
“It is up to the State to finance infrastructure”
However, since the reform of 1is January, the State no longer finances SNCF Réseau. It is now the responsibility of rights of way
paid by SNCF Voyageurs. The other user, SNCF freight (goods), meanwhile comes close to filing for bankruptcy.
Same dead end for SNCF Gares et Connexions, whose surfaces to be maintained, transferred by SNCF Voyageurs, have been multiplied by five, while its revenue from tolls and shop rents have melted.
SNCF’s debt therefore swells again, to 38.1 billion, despite a savings plan… which postponed certain expenses to 2021. A year which, despite the probable sale of Ermewa, a management subsidiary freight cars, looks worse than 2020.
According to the Court of Auditors, it’s up to the state to put it back in the pot. On the union side, Thomas Cavel, general secretary of the CFDT Cheminots, fears thatthe employment of railway workers is still being attacked, which is unfounded and unfair. Debt results from political choices made for the network. It is up to the State to ensure fair funding
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