The Council of State on Monday rejected the French regions which contested an opinion from the Transport Regulatory Authority (ART) validating the increase in rail toll prices.
Eight regions are contesting the increases required for the years 2024, 2025 and 2026 by SNCF Réseau to operate regional express trains (TER), which they finance, in addition to tickets and subscriptions paid by users.
They requested the cancellation for
“excess of power”
of the opinion of the ART, which validated these increases in February 2023. In a decree consulted by AFP, the Council of State ruled that this opinion was not was
“not likely to be directly the subject of an action for abuse of power”
.
The legality can only be contested in the context of an appeal lodged directly against these tariff provisions, according to the text.
The Council of State has yet to decide on these pricing policies.
A decision is expected in the coming weeks.
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Increase of 8% for 2024
The increase in tolls reached 8% on average for the year 2024 for this type of transport, SNCF Réseau indicated, after years of increases below inflation.
The subsidiary which manages and maintains the expensive SNCF network aims with these increases to achieve financial balance in 2024.
These appeals were brought before the Council of State by the regions Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Centre-Val de Loire, Hauts-de-France, Île-de-France, Occitanie, Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Grand Est, who denounce increases of several million euros each time.
Asked by AFP, SNCF Réseau did not wish to comment on the decision of the Council of State.