Ambition France transport: SNCF unions anger after meeting with Philippe Tabarot

Will the infrastructure financing conference result in the abandonment of rail projects? With its decisions expected in mid-July, SNCF unions are worried. On Monday, June 23, on the sidelines of a thematic meeting on artificial intelligence, the CGT railway workers, the Unsa (Union for the Coordination of Transport), Sud Rail, and the CFDT (French Trade Union Federation) met for the first time with Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot, as part of Ambition France Transport.

"The future of the railways is at stake. We're short of 1 billion for the regeneration of the railways, but all the stakeholders are looking at each other to find sources of funding. The minister told us that there were intentions to invest, but that there was no more money," Thomas Cavel (CFDT Cheminots) said at the end of the meeting, in front of more than a thousand railway workers.

As a reminder, according to the SNCF, by 2028-2030, 4,000 kilometers of lines "could be affected by an irreversible collapse in service quality " without this billion euros of investment. This would have a direct impact on 2,000 daily trains. And, in the following decade, 10,000 kilometers of line would be at risk.

"Be careful that this conference doesn't end up as a complete waste of time. Where have the 100 billion promised by Élisabeth Borne gone?" asks Fabrice Charriere (UNSA). "Conversely, this conference is showing an injunction for self-financing of the networks. In the railway sector, this is causing tensions on production lines through unattainable targets." And the union representative warns: "If the network collapses, our jobs will go with this washing machine."

For his part, Thierry Nier reminded the minister of the CGT Cheminots' proposals for financing railway infrastructure: directing the TICPE (domestic consumption tax on energy products) towards sustainable mobility , nationalising motorways, eliminating the SNCF's competitive fund, and introducing a multi-year financing law. "We need money for city and country trains, not for war," the CGT union member insisted after the meeting.

Informed of the content of the workshops, Didier le Reste warned against "the temptation of Bercy to look for ways to save money." According to the president of the Convergence national rail (CNR), "the Ministries of Economy and Finance refuse to commit to additional spending, but propose to tax users more or even to tap into the coffers of already depleted local authorities. For them, the decarbonization of transport is yes, but without rail."

As the government advocates for Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to finance future rail projects, Fabien Villedieu of Sud Rail warns: "In England, the line between London and Birmingham is expected to cost 77 billion for 200 kilometers. That's 10 times more expensive than in France! Why? Because the English privatized the railways 30 years ago and are now being squeezed by the private sector."

And he added : "This same logic is followed in France by the balkanization of this wonderful SNCF company which knew how to build lines, transport passengers, manage goods..." In terms of struggles, Thierry Nier recalled that the CGT Cheminots was involved in "65 pluralist mobilizations in the territories, whether to defend a station, a ticket office, obtain the reopening of a line or relaunch Freight."