The Transport Regulatory Authority gave the green light Thursday to the Railcoop cooperative to operate six rail lines including Lille-Nantes and Strasbourg-Clermont-Ferrand.
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After economic balance tests requested by the Burgundy and Normandy regions, the Authority published a “
right of access to rail infrastructure
” for this small cooperative which intends in particular to relaunch the Bordeaux-Lyon transverse line at the end of 2022. The other authorized connections are Massy-Brest, Saint-Étienne-Thionville, Grenoble-Thionville and Le Croisic-Bâle, all announced for December 11, 2022.
The offer planned by Railcoop foresees, for example, two daily return trips between Lille-Flandres and Nantes, with stops in Amiens, Rouen, Caen and Saint-Lô, in particular, and a total journey time of more than 9 hours.
Between Strasbourg and Clermont-Ferrand, Railcoop would offer two daily round trips with stops in Mulhouse, Besançon, Dijon-ville, Nevers or even Vichy, and a journey time of just under 8 hours.
The Authority has also given the green light to SNCF Voyageurs to relaunch three daily round trips at "
classic speed
", in Corail trains, between Lyon-Perrache and Paris-Bercy or Paris-Austerlitz, with stops in Mâcon, Dijon or Melun, in particular, and an estimated journey time of 5:30.
The Italian company Trenitalia launched its trains on the same Paris-Lyon line in mid-December, facing the SNCF TGVs.