Finally, it is signed.
With almost a year late, the regional authority in charge of transport, Ile-de-France Mobilités (IDFM), and SNCF on Wednesday concluded the contract defining their “rights and obligations” for the next four years.
The SNCF Ile-de-France network normally transports 3.4 million people per day.
This represents 70% of the company's total passenger traffic.
The new contract covers 12 billion euros, eight of which will be devoted to investments (works, workshops, etc.), an amount doubled compared to the previous period (2016-2020).
Automatic reimbursement in the event of repeated delays
One of the main innovations is the principle of automatic reimbursement of customers in the event of repeated delays in their branch.
The punctuality of trains, now calculated by branch, and not over the entire line, will be evaluated every week.
If less than 80% of trains run on time over a long period, penalized Navigo subscribers will automatically receive compensation.
This is fixed at half a month of subscription for repeated delays over 3 to 5 months (consecutive or not), at one month for disturbances noted between 6 and 9 months, and at one and a half months for a lack. regularity greater than 9 months.
In order to encourage the SNCF to guarantee regularity and quality of service, a bonus / penalty system of up to 100 million euros per year has been put in place (compared to 23 million euros previously).
25% of this bonus / penalty will be calculated based on the results of the passenger perception survey (10% in the previous contract), relating to the proper functioning of station equipment, cleanliness and even safety.
Finally, in the event of a labor dispute, the penalties imposed on the operator in the event of non-compliance with the minimum number of trains in circulation will no longer be capped at 15 million euros as they are today.
Last contract before the call for competition
This new type of contract was fiercely negotiated by both parties.
The issue of financial penalties, the definition of more stringent quality criteria as well as the resources allocated by IDFM to achieve these objectives were the subject of long negotiations, further complicated by the Covid-19 crisis.
In a press conference organized online, the president of Ile-de-France Mobilités, Valérie Pécresse (Libres!) And the CEO of SNCF, Jean-Pierre Farandou, underlined the specificities of this new “pact”, which is the last before the gradual opening up to competition in transport in Ile-de-France, between 2023 and 2039. “This contract constantly encourages us to improve, progress and even excellence.
Regularity is what users expect on a daily basis, it is normal and we are well aware of it.
The aim is to improve the service provided in depth.
And we are ready to accept the penalty systems, ”said Jean-Pierre Farandou.
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After SNCF, it will be the turn of RATP to accept a new contract binding it to Ile-de-France Mobilités.
Here again, the discussions promise to be long and intense.
While a strike was announced Thursday, December 17 at RATP, Valérie Pécresse tried to allay fears related to competition.
"A competition can be a healthy emulation for the incumbent operators and which does not necessarily lead at all to the privatization of the network, as the specter is waving some of its opponents", she estimated.
