Annus horribilis for the SNCF.
“In 2020, we lost 42% of our travelers, while the previous five years traffic increased by 2% to 3% per year,”
says Christophe Fanichet, CEO of SNCF Voyageurs.
This decrease reached 45% in Parisian suburban trains (Transilien), 35% in TER and 42% on main lines (TGV and Intercités).
Between January and the end of October alone, this decline resulted in a shortfall of 5 billion euros.
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Other black dots obscure this already dark picture.
The business clientele, which generated 40% of TGV turnover and an even higher margin, has almost disappeared.
As for Eurostar, which provides the link between Paris and London, the situation is dramatic.
“We only have one round trip a day
,” explains Christophe Fanichet.
It is a company which, in view of the traffic, is more affected than the airline. ”
SNCF is concerned because it owns 55% of Eurostar.
New price list "simpler, more accessible, more attractive"
More generally, the outlook at the start of the year is not bright.
In the TGV, reservations for February fell by 70% and for March by 80%.
And, since the end of the Christmas holidays, on January 5, the activity remains very soft.
The occupancy rate in TGVs is only 45% while the company only runs three out of four.
And the SNCF does not envisage leaving the tunnel in the first half of the year.
“I have a key date, it's summer 2021,”
says Christophe Fanichet, who wants to
“win back his customers”
from this period.
To do this, it will put in place by June or July on the main lines a new tariff schedule
"simpler, more accessible, more attractive"
.
By the end of the year, SNCF will also merge all its applications into one.
Here again, it is a concern for readability for its customers that encourages this movement.
The company is already drawing lessons from experiences to adapt to new customer expectations arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.
In two regions (South and New Aquitaine), SNCF has set up, at the request of elected officials, a reduced rate subscription for those who work from home one or two days a week.
Similarly, from this weekend, a TER will run between Lille and Paris while there is a TGV.
An agility that SNCF expects will allow it to be well positioned when opening up to competition on the TER which will take a more concrete turn this year.
