SNCF feared a catastrophic summer. But it finally managed to limit the damage. The company estimates to have transported 8 million passengers in July, and should accommodate 8.5 million in August, according to information from the Opinion . “ A normal summer is 20 million people in TGVs, 25 million including TERs. We are therefore 15% below normal, but we expected worse in our estimates for May», Details Alain Krakovitch, interviewed by the daily. To explain these good figures, the director of Voyages SNCF recalls that the company has been offering 5 million tickets at low prices since June. Among these 5 million tickets, the company has put on sale 3 million TGV and Intercités tickets under 49 euros and 2 million TER tickets between 1 and 10 euros. “ We've sold 3 million of these cheap tickets so far, ” he says. “ In July for example, we broke the Ouigo ticket sales record. There is an appetite for low prices ”, assures Alain Krakovitch.
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He also adds that the filling rate of TGVs on weekends is “ almost normal ”, at nearly 80%. “ We will be limited to the breakeven point, but less than what we expected, ” he continues. The breakeven point for TGVs is indeed 70%. If this concerns domestic lines, the foreign Eurostar and Thalys lines nevertheless record traffic that is less than half of normal.
In France, the destinations favored by the French this summer remain the South-East, the South-West and Brittany. What has changed are consumption habits: “ Everything is done at the last minute, there is no anticipation, explains Alain Krakovitch to L'Opinion. The French were unable to prepare for their vacation. This explains why we had very important sales days, much larger than a normal August. However, the delay in sales will not be entirely made up. "
To adapt to the new habits of its customers, SNCF is offering the exchange or cancellation of its TGV inOui, Ouigo, Intercités and TER connection free of charge until August 31st. You can request it directly on the oui.sncf website or application until the train leaves, or via a dedicated complaint form after its departure.
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Since May 11, SNCF has also adapted to health risks. If the restriction of one seat in two has been lifted since June 2, wearing a mask remains mandatory at the station and throughout the journey, under penalty of a fine of 135 euros. The company has put in place markings on the ground - little respected in fact - in its stations, in front of terminals and counters in order to allow social distancing between travelers. 120 stations are also equipped with hydroalcoholic gel dispensers. Finally, since July 21, SNCF has been testing temperature measurement by thermal camera for volunteer customers. To date, only the stations of Lyon, Est and Montparnasse are equipped with these “ health terminals ”.
One of the concerns of the SNCF concerns the return to school, more particularly business trips, which are the most profitable for the company. With the spread of teleworking, Alain Krakovitch explains: “ We will have to adapt. We are watching with interest what is happening in the real estate market. Many city dwellers have fled the cities, bought houses in the region and will organize professional lives with round trips by TGV. It will be necessary to respond to this clientele. "
In the first half of the year, the company's turnover fell 21% to 14.1 billion euros. The main cause is the health crisis and strikes linked to the pension reform. The health crisis thus generated a shortfall of 3.9 billion euros, and the January strikes, 275 million.
