The increase in the price of electricity will not be without impact on the price of train tickets in 2023, had already warned the boss of the SNCF.
But the Minister of Transport, Clément Beaune, argued this Sunday the idea of a "tariff shield" in order to limit this price increase.
“I asked the SNCF to work on ticket prices on a tariff shield and that the increase in tickets be lower than inflation (…) and especially that those who need the train on a daily basis like the most modest and young people are protected", revealed Clément Beaune, guest of the Grand Jury RTL, Le Figaro, LCI, setting the objective of having an increase in the price of the train ticket "below inflation".
🔴🗣️ Train ticket prices: "I am working with the SNCF on a tariff shield [...] with an increase in tickets lower than inflation", confided Clément Beaune (@CBaune), the Minister of Transport in # LeGrandJury pic.twitter.com/A3jhMyLzSK
— The Grand Jury (@LeGrandJury) November 6, 2022
The boss of the SNCF, Jean-Pierre Farandou, had warned in mid-September that the price of train tickets would increase in the coming months, without saying precisely when and to what extent, while the electricity consumption of the SNCF represents 1 to 2 % of national consumption.
“Next year, we are still covered but a little less.
(…) With the current price, at this stage we would have an additional cost for electricity alone of 1.6 to 1.7 billion”, he warned.
Who is responsible for the “tariff shield”?
For the TGVs, evoking a quick "table corner calculation", "if we directly passed on (this increase) to the cost of the ticket, we would have to increase the TGV tickets by 10%", had also revealed the boss of the railway company, then questioned by the Senate.
The day after these statements by the boss of the SNCF, Clément Beaune was clear: “We will not finance everything for everyone.
The State will not be able to absorb everything, that is clear.
"The government, by charging the SNCF - however 100% public company - to set up a "tariff shield", therefore seems to exclude any gesture, when at the same time the State has planned more than 7 billion euros for the fuel discount.
This Sunday, Clément Beaune also announced a "risk of a sharp increase" in the price of tolls next year, without specifying to what extent.