It was the flagship project of the 2000s, construction of the TGV Rhine-Rhône line. A creation which was to make it possible to link Dijon to Mulhouse at high speed, the first TGV line not to go through Paris.
As is done for each construction of a new TGV line, local communities have been widely solicited alongside the state to complete the financing. The former Franche-Comté region contributed the largest share: 189 million euros with the participation of the departments of Doubs, Territoire de Belfort, Haute-Saône, but also the communities of agglomerations of Grand Besançon, Belfort and Pays de Montbéliard.
The Alsace region contributed 104.7 million Euros and the former Burgundy region 68.1 million Euros.
If we look only at the financing, we deduce that this TGV line is primarily intended for users of Franche-Comté. A detail that seems to have forgotten the SNCF during the development of its winter service 2021.
Winter timetables at the SNCF
To understand properly, you should know that each year, the SNCF changes its train schedules, this is called “the winter service”. This happens every year on the 2nd Sunday of December.
These modifications make it possible to harmonize train traffic at European level, but also to adapt supply to demand. In theory, these modifications take into account the opening up to competition. It is on this date that trains are added or deleted, in principle to better meet the needs of travelers.
A TGV terminus in Besançon instead of continuing to Mulhouse
But sometimes there are hiccups, and this is the case this year with the first TGV in the morning which leaves Paris Gare de Lyon at 6:52 am and arrives at Belfort-Montbéliard TGV at 9:30 am, 9:56 am in Mulhouse. Without any consultation with either elected officials or users the SNCF has decided that this TGV will be terminated at Besancon Viotte station from December 12.
At our request, SNCF explains: “From December 12, 2021, the TGV Paris – Dijon – Mulhouse offer evolves to offer a simpler, more accessible and more readable offer with a departure time, a service and a destination valid at least from Monday to Friday”.
“High Speed customers (LYRIA and TGV) will continue to benefit from the same number of round trips from Paris during the week, namely Montbard 4 round trips, Dijon 14 round trips, Dole 5 round trips, Besançon 8 round trips, Belfort 8 round trips and Mulhouse 11 round trips; but times are changing “.
“To meet the needs expressed by customers and elected officials, TGV is offering a new TGV departure time from Paris at 9:30 am (9:22 am exactly) for Dijon, Besançon, Belfort and Mulhouse from Monday to Friday”.
“With this TGV, it will therefore be possible to reach the main cities of the Bourgogne Franche-Comté region at least every 2 hours in the morning from the capital. (Unlike today, where there was a wait of 4 hours at the start from Paris between the 7:22 am TGV and the 11:22 am TGV) “
The problem is that many users who are used to taking the first TGV from Paris, some with an annual subscription, find themselves dropped on the Besançon quay with several hours of waiting before being able to reach Belfort- Montbéliard or Mulhouse For the SNCF, these travelers just have to take the next TGV or leave the day before, it’s so much easier … Another solution recommended by the SNCF, take a TER connection.
We are a long way from the initial spirit of this TGV Rhine Rhône line, which was mainly financed by Francs-Comtois taxpayers’ money!
Daytime meetings coming from Paris will no longer be possible
By offering a first TGV from Paris at 9:30 am, the SNCF completely eliminates the possibility for professionals to make a return trip during the day to Belfort Montbéliard or Mulhouse for a work meeting. It is a throwback to the days of the Intercité train, which was precisely the reason for the creation of this TGV line.
An unacceptable situation for the FNAUT, the National Federation of Transport Users for the Bourgogne Franche-Comté region. For its president Cedric Journeau, this change is being done to the detriment of users.
Cedric Journeau deplores that the FNAUT is always warned at the last minute: “This is information which is now a few weeks old. After the consequences that we had seen quite quickly, especially for our colleagues from Belfort, it is that the first connection which left Paris around 6:50 am, arrived in Belfort around 9:50 am approximately. Well, it allowed a certain number of business leaders or people from the business world or training, to come and spend a day in Belfort and then return to Paris in the evening. schedule, unfortunately, it will be much more difficult for them since the first TGV which will arrive in Belfort will arrive at the stroke of 10:30 am, 11 am “.
College students deprived of transport
Another consequence, more anecdotal because it concerns only six pupils, but symptomatic of a decision taken without any consultation with the users.
The College of Faucogney-et-la-Mer in Haute-Saône, is the only one in France to offer a cycling class from 6th to 3rd. About twenty students have lessons in the morning so that they can practice cycling in the afternoon, mountain biking or road cycling. This cycling class is now known nationally, and students come from all over France to follow their education at Faucogney college in order to be able to practice cycling, some of them are future champions.
A dozen of these students live outside the usual college education area, they come from all over France, some arrive on Mondays at the Remiremont TGV station in the Vosges, others at the Belfort-Montbéliard TGV station. A system of shuttles has been set up by the parents to ensure the journey from the station to the college. It should be noted that these students have an annual subscription to the SNCF, an expense that does not benefit from free school transport because they are educated in a department other than the one where they reside.
They are boarders, housed at the Lycée de Luxeuil-les-Bains, and return home on Friday afternoon. There again, a course arrangement allows them to take their train to be back home on Friday evening.
When the parents decided to enroll their child in this college, it was only because there was a possibility of boarding school and that the TGV allowed them to be in college on Monday mornings.
From December 12, six students from Dijon, Chalon or Macon who take the TGV from Dijon on Monday morning to Belfort-Montbéliard will no longer be able to arrive on Monday morning because their Monday morning train will terminate in Besançon. A modification during the school year which could not in any way be anticipated by the families.
Families who immediately contacted the SNCF. She suggests that the students arrive on Sunday, but the boarding school is not open on Sunday evening. In addition, the majority take part in competitions throughout France on weekends, leaving on Sunday afternoon is not possible. Another solution recommended by the SNCF is to take the TER, but this considerably lengthens the journey time for these adolescents.
Families try to organize themselves with carpooling, but this also lengthens travel time and requires taking the road in winter with the associated risks.
–
