A financial disagreement between the SNCF, the State and the New Aquitaine region is blocking the start of work on this railway line. Explanations.
Every year 2.7 million tons of diorite are extracted from the Roy quarries in Saint-Varent. Half of this production is shipped by rail.
However, since the closure of the freight line between Saint-Varent and Parthenay at the end of 2015, the detour of convoys via Saint-Pierre-des-Corps for Bordeaux generates an annual additional cost of 120,000 euros for the company.
“This detour forces us to do 300 km more than the 600 km between the quarries and Bordeaux”explains Dominique Billon, General Manager of Carrières Roy de Saint-Varent.
The rehabilitation works of the closed portion are estimated at 16 million euros. A few months ago, the State, the region, the municipalities and the companies put their hands in their pockets finally allowing the financing plan. The site could therefore have started, but SNCF Réseau has just demanded an additional 1.5 million euros to balance the operation of the line.
“The maintenance and operating costs of the line would not be covered by the revenue that we have on this line with tolls. However, the law prohibits us from financing structurally loss-making operations“, specifies Jean-Luc Gary, regional director SNCF Réseau Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
A decision “totally iniquitous”, according to Renaud Lagrave, vice-president of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, in charge of mobility.
For its part, the State has already mopped up 35 billion in debt from the SNCF group and should, according to the new railway pact, take charge of this announced operating deficit. There is urgency, because the schedule is tight: the return to service of the Saint-Varent / Parthenay portion is scheduled for 2023.
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