THE Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France has selected incumbent SNCF Passenger as preferred bidder for a contract to operate TER regional services on six lines in the former region of Poitou-Charentes, now part of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. According to local media reports, the 10-year contract is worth €1.2bn.

Contract award is subject to a vote by the regional council on April 20. The selection of French National Railways’ (SNCF) passenger operating business as preferred bidder was announced by the president of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, Alain Rousset, during his opening address to a plenary session of the regional council on April 2.

Poitou-Charentes forms Lot A of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine TER network, and is the first operating contract to be tendered by the region. According to Rousset, all three bids submitted were “very strong” in both technical and financial terms. SNCF was bidding against Transdev and new entrant Le Train.

The region says that the winning bid best meets its two key requirements of reducing costs while increasing the number of services. “It’s the passenger that wins,” Rousset says. The number of services will increase by 20% when operations start under the new contract in December 2027, representing an additional 22 trains each weekday.

At present, 4.4 million train-km are operated on the six lines in Poitou-Charentes that make up Lot A, carrying 14,000 passengers a day. The six lines are:

  • Châtellerault - Poitiers - Angoulême
  • Angoulême - Bordeaux
  • Poitiers - Niort - La Rochelle
  • La Rochelle - Saintes - Bordeaux
  • Angoulême - Saintes - Royan, and
  • Niort - Saintes - Royan.

Services will be operated by a new subsidiary of SNCF Passenger, which will also be responsible for maintaining the Poitou-Charentes fleet of 44 trains at the existing depot in Saintes. A total of 400 full-time posts will transfer from SNCF Passenger to the new subsidiary.

The current TER operating agreement between Nouvelle-Aquitaine and SNCF runs from 2024 to 2030. Tendering is due start this summer for Lot B, comprising lines in Périgord Limousin with operations commencing in December 2029, and for Lot D covering the south of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region where operations will commence in December 2030.

“Our only objective is to ensure that passengers benefit from public services that are more efficient, more flexible, and more sustainable,” says Rousset.