Opening to competition for rail transport is a fight of giants. The Italian Trenitalia, the French Transdev and, soon, the Spaniard Renfe undertook to rub the SNCF on his own lands. But young tricolor shoots also dream of getting into the ring, and one of them is clearly out. Funded by the Antin Infrastructure Partners Fund which put the trifle of one billion euros, Proxima presents itself as “the first independent French company of high -speed train”. The company, whose name – temporary – refers to the star closest to the sun, is positioned in the west of the territory. She plans to link Bordeaux, Nantes, Rennes and Angers to Paris, “by providing travelers with more than 10 million new places per year”. His first trains should circulate in 2028.
An order of 850 million in Alstom
The railway market requires heavy investments, not very compatible with the often frugal resources of a start-up. The French Midnight Trains and Railcoop can testify. They threw the sponge before having been able to circulate the slightest wagon. The company Le Train has certainly raised 350 million euros,, “But it takes a billion to get started. Only Proxima managed to collect such a sum,” observes Patricia Perennes, from the Trans-Mission consulting firm.
Release of wood last June, the company placed an order of 850 million euros in Alstom for 12 TGV trains at two new generation levels-the equivalent of the TGV-M for the SNCF-, accompanied by fifteen years of maintenance. A small feat in this period when manufacturers are crumbling under the solicitations. “We have negotiated for eighteen months,” said Alain Rauscher, the boss of Antin, who claims to target “a market share of 3 % on the lines of west of France”.
In addition to this powerful – Antin shareholder is one of the first infrastructure funds in Europe -, Proxima can count on the experience of its founders, Timothy Jackson and Rachel Picard. The Englishman has created a rolling stock rental company and piloted the British and Irish Entities of the RATP. The Frenchwoman directed the subsidiary Gares & Connections then the TGV activities of the SNCF. “Rachel Picard knows her market, she knows where profitability is. She is not going to have fun making bucolic lines for pleasure,” said Patricia Perennes.
The price of the ticket, key factor
The context is carrying. High -speed trains beat filling records. The cities of the Atlantic coast which will be served by Proxima have seen their attractiveness leaping from the pandemic and the boom in telework. The request for tickets explodes but the supply does not follow. “We lack TGV trains on the western facade. A new actor can make a place for himself simply because the SNCF trains are full. This is what happened for Trenitalia on the Paris-Lyon axis” , continues the consultant. Like the TGV-M of the SNCF, each proxima train will have two oars of 740 seats, against 634 on current TGVs.
If the adventure seems to go on good rails, the start-up has yet to overcome several obstacles. Starting with Alstom’s ability to honor its commitments within three years. “The main bottleneck is the supply of trains. Alstom has a huge order book and production is struggling to follow,” recalls economist Frédéric Marty, researcher at CNRS. Another unknown: will there be room for new furrows, knowing that the SNCF already circulates 28 trains per day between Paris and Bordeaux? To distinguish itself from Inoui or Ouigo, the company promises better comfort and a reinvented design. “I find it hard to believe that it will be differentiating. Travelers want to go from point A to point B, at a reasonable price,” said Patricia Perennes.
The company does not indicate, at this stage, if it targets leisure or business customers. Gold The latter needs flexibility. “”If you miss your train, will you wait until the next proxima, knowing that they will have few time slots? No, you will probably take that of the SNCF, because there are very often“”Pointe Marc Ivaldi, professor at Toulouse School of Economics, for whom competition can only be done on the price. The bet is nonetheless playable. On the other side of the Alps, the private Italian company, of which Proxima is inspired openly, has managed to make a place. In 2023, the Swiss shipowner MSC bought 50 % of the company’s shares, valuing it to 4.1 billion euros. Twice more than in 2018…
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