By Nicolas drusian
Published on 5 Mar 21 @ 3:24 pm
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“An effort hailed, but lower than the identified needs”, judged Philippe Tabarot. The senator of Alpes-Maritimes defended the “small lines” railway and their sustainability, Wednesday March 3, 2021, asking the government for more investments.
Philippe Tabarot speaks a budget of € 620 million allocated for 2021, and estimates that the amount should increase by 300 million more.
Efforts are already being made
The senator from the Alpes-Maritimes recognizes the efforts made, particularly in the south of France, by naming for example Etoile de Veynes (in the Hautes-Alpes, which connects Marseille, Grenoble or Valence) or the Blue Coast (along the Camargue, towards Marseille).
However, these small lines are in competition with the use of the car, and “ask the question about their long-term investment”.
Mobility in low density areas: my intervention with the Minister @JoelGiraud05 there is a real subject on the sustainability of the financing of transport infrastructure beyond 2022 @lesRep_Senat @Senate pic.twitter.com/22Q64IoJfk
– Philippe Tabarot (@PhilippeTabarot) March 3, 2021
“The conditions are there to make small lines sustainable”
The government tried to reassure, through Joel Giraud, Secretary of State in charge of rurality:
From 2023, the memoranda of understanding with the regions are precisely the framework of our common commitment to perpetuate these lines. The first guarantee is: the exhaustive inventory of the needs and the methods of financing, line by line, financier by financier.
While specifying that the SNCF is committed to investing in favor of ten lines deemed essential in France. Joël Giraud therefore presents: “the conditions are met for the State, the regions and the SNCF to make a long-term commitment to the sustainability of small lines, starting with the next mobility component 2023-2027, whose development is in front of us ”.
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