International & World Report

Photo credits: AFP

It must be with Air France, it will be finally on Tuesday with Trenitalia. Reportedly, the group Veolia is about to conclude an agreement with Trenitalia, the division of passenger transport operator of Italian public Ferrovie dello Stato, to ride the TGV in France in early 2012.

Neither partner can share in the unknown. The French group had initially started this project in 2008 with Air France before the airline waives last October. Veolia provides fruit and a year of joint discussions with Air France on the subject and plan of attack ready. For its part, Trenitalia is the first foreign operator to take advantage of the opening of international passenger traffic last December 13 to seek paths in France.The group is preparing to roll its TGV spring between Rome, Milan and Paris.

The liberalization of international trade makes it possible for an operator to run its trains in France if they have a path between two states. It is possible to make the Milan-Paris via Lyon and compete with SNCF on the Paris-Lyon section.

To ride the TGV early 2012, both partners are ready to draw: it takes at least six months to conduct the tender for rolling stock and nearly two years the builder to honor his order. Veolia should take over the project developed with Air France. It revolved around three TGV lines. An axis Brussels-Paris-Lyon which allows both to compete with the Thalys between Brussels and Paris and SNCF from Paris and Lyon. A Paris-London Eurostar rival but also competing with SNCF Paris-Lille.And finally, a Paris-Strasbourg line with after the Alsatian capital, a branch to Frankfurt serving lines Mannheim and Karlsruhe, and a branch to Basel with a stop in Mulhouse.

Ambassador of the French high-speed

With operating costs 30% lower than the station simply because of the social system of railway, Trenitalia Veolia and could become the low-cost airline of the TGV. Initial projections of rates which were estimated with Air France aimed at a Paris-Lyon to 30 Euros in second class cons 41 to 63.10 euros for the station (ticket Leisure in normal times), a Paris-Nantes to 22 euros second class cons from 36.50 to 56.80 euros for the SNCF and the Paris-Lille 19 euros against 25 to 38.90 euros for the station.

For Air France, this project means that the ally of yesterday will become a new competitor for its domestic flights.For the station, this is the end of a monopoly and the beginning of a battle that will necessarily lead the public company to lose market share.

For Veolia, the project is a first step since the group aims eventually to answer calls for tenders TGV abroad. The French would be very good in the role of ambassador of the French high speed in the world alongside the manufacturer Alstom. "To export the TGV, Alstom suffers from not being associated with an operator, said a close case. SNCF does not because she is not willing to take risks and cost of revenue abroad. "

The agency Fitch has not taken into account what is doing the new government. Photo credits: AFP