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The opening up of rail transport to competition is taking shape in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region.
On Monday, the regional company "
Le Train
" announced that it had signed a "
major industrial partnership
" with the Spanish company Talgo, "
for the manufacture and maintenance of several dozen trains
", with a first delivery of ten trains of AVRIL S106 model from 2025. An important step for the company, which plans to welcome more than 3 million passengers a year on board its 50 daily trains, "
in a new standard of comfort and customer experience
".
This new operator puts forward tempting promises: a Bordeaux-Nantes journey in less than three hours via Tours instead of Paris, a Bordeaux-Rennes in 3h30 and a Bordeaux-Angoulême in just 34 minutes.
Journeys presented as faster, more comfortable and less expensive than those of the SNCF.
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On the Bordeaux and Nantes link, Catherine Pihan-Le Bars, deputy general manager at Le Train, recalls that currently, the journey takes around 4h15, with a change in Paris.
With Le Train, "
we will improve the journey time by an hour and fifteen minutes and we will be competitive with the car
", she believes, because currently "
the offer by train is not satisfactory compared to market expectations
.
The company's objective is to "
break journey times compared to the car
", to encourage users to turn to rail.
The fares offered by Le Train will be lower than those of the TGV but higher than those of the Ouigo journeys,
the SNCF's current “
low cost ” offer.
"
We will be hyper
-competitive ", assures the deputy general manager, giving as an example the price of a direct Bordeaux-Nantes journey, which should be between 60 and 65 euros "
for a leisure traveler
", against more than 100 euros currently at the SNCF.
Offer a better internet connection
Five round trips between Bordeaux and Nantes will take place each day and two between Bordeaux and Rennes.
"
The first train will arrive before 9
a.m.
", specifies Catherine Pihan-Le Bars, estimating that this schedule "
will allow people to leave their car behind and take advantage of the day at their destination
".
The Train also intends to offer a radically different experience from that of the SNCF: the trains will have 350 seats, i.e. about half as many as in the TGV InOui, and will emphasize comfort and "
cocooning
", without there is first or second class.
Four places will be dedicated to bicycles in each car, “
with help for electric charging
”, and above all better wifi.
"
We fully intend to be the best in this area
", underlines Catherine Pihan-Le Bars, deploring that Internet access in trains is currently "
a black spot for travellers
".
"
We want to be able to work by train, send emails, but also watch Netflix
," she explains.
For catering, the trains will not offer bar cars but “
concept stores
”, offering products that will go “
from the Mac charger to a high-quality and more ecologically responsible catering offer
”, with also “
snacking areas
” in the carriages, “
to have a madeleine and a coffee
”.
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The first ten new trains built by Talgo should be delivered from 2025, but Le Train is counting on a commercial launch from 2024, with the purchase of around ten second-hand TGV trains, which could be used as soon as next year, before the arrival of their new fleet of high-speed trains.