SNCF profits on the rise

Even better than in 2022. SNCF should announce, this Thursday, a 2024 profit up by almost 20% which will reach 1.55 billion euros, for a turnover of 43.3 billion euros, itself an increase of 3.5%. This is the second best result for the rail carrier in fifteen years. In 2022, profits had reached 2.07 billion. Last year, SNCF benefited from a record occupancy rate of its TGVs, up to 80%, and even more for its low-cost Ouigo TGVs.

This high occupancy rate is explained in particular by a lack of available trains: 115 new ones were ordered from the manufacturer Alstom for a total of 3.5 billion euros. They should have been delivered in the summer of 2024 for the Olympic Games. They will be delivered at best in early 2026. However, this shortage of available seats triggers a highly profitable mechanism. The software responsible for establishing the prices works according to the principle of supply and demand. The greater the demand, the higher the prices, especially when there is a lack of available seats.

The carrier also benefits from the pro-rail wave to the detriment of airlines. They can no longer operate flights within France as long as there is an equivalent rail connection lasting two and a half hours or less. In addition, the vote, in the 2025 budget, for an increase