The first foreign operator to compete with the SNCF on the TGV in France, Trenitalia announced on Tuesday April 5 that it had transported 150,000 passengers between Paris and Lyon since the launch in December of its two daily round trips, to which a third was added on Tuesday, in expecting two more from June 1st.
Read alsoCompetition in the rail: Trenitalia strengthens its Paris-Lyon offer
The three new round trips will only connect Lyon and Paris, while the two launched on December 18 extend their line to Milan, via Chambéry, Modane and Turin.
On the Lyon-Paris section, the average occupancy has for three months approached 87%, rejoiced during a press briefing on Tuesday in Lyon Roberto Rinaudo, general manager France of Trenitalia.
With five round trips per day from June, the SNCF's leading competitor on the TGV in France since the opening to free-access competition in this sector in December 2020, will have increased the offer by 20% on the line, he underlined, the SNCF providing 24 daily round trips.
The Trenitalia Paris-Lyon ticket is available from 23 euros in standard class, compared to 16 euros in Ouigo and 25 euros in TGV Inoui for the SNCF call prices, without a reduction card.
Dressed in red and decorated with swivel seats, the Frecciarossa 1000 of Trenitalia, manufactured by Hitachi, can reach 360 km/h, but will travel at most at 300 km/h, like the TGV.
“Negotiated pricing”
Roberto Rinaudo did not wish to comment on press reports claiming that Trenitalia will benefit from “
substantial discounts on the price of tolls
” in France from SNCF Réseau, but he confirmed a request for “
negotiated pricing
” to the Regulatory Authority transport (ART).
This "
possibility offered and framed by texts, European and national
", makes it possible to "
remedy, in an equitable and non-discriminatory manner, an objective difference in situation between incumbent operator and new entrant
", indicated the ART to AFP .
Read alsoOmicron slows down the start of Trenitalia in Paris-Lyon
Founded in 2000 to comply with the obligation to separate the rail transport service from the management of the rail network, imposed by European legislation, Trenitalia claims a total of 600 million passengers per year.
Present in 5 countries in Europe, Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, parent company of Trenitalia, will launch a high-speed line in Greece at the end of April, linking Athens to Thessaloniki, also recalled Carlo Palasciano, its international director.
Also operating in Germany, eastern England and Scotland, Trenitalia plans to roll out in Spain in the second half of 2022 on the Madrid-Barcelona, Madrid-Valencia, Madrid-Malaga and Madrid-Seville high-speed lines.