THE French transport ministry has published a call for tenders to operate inter-city passenger services on two main lines from Paris, the 419km line to Clermont-Ferrand as well as the 713km line to Limoges and Toulouse. Requests to participate are due by April 30.
The number of stations served must be at least the same as at present, with a minimum of nine train pairs a day on the Clermont-Ferrand line. On the Paris - Toulouse line, there will be at least four train pairs a day between the capital and Brive-la-Gaillarde, fewer to Cahors and four to Toulouse.
The new operator will be expected to provide high levels of service quality, train punctuality, passenger information provision and onboard comfort, and will be responsible for fleet maintenance, ticket retailing and pricing. Fleet maintenance may be subcontracted to a third party.
Contract length and start date are not specified in the tender notice, and will possibly be dependent on the successful introduction of the new fleet of 28 CAF Oxygène EMUs that the government has purchased to replace locomotive-hauled Corail coaches dating from the 1970s and 1980s. The notice says that all the new trains are expected to be in service by the end of 2027.
The government is also financing new rolling stock maintenance facilities at Paris Masséna, Villeneuve-Saint-Georges, Brive-la-Gaillarde, Clermont-Ferrand and Toulouse. They will be made available to the operator under terms to be agreed in due course.
For detailed data on European fleet orders, subscribe to IRJ Pro.
