FRANCE: ‘Between four and 10’ companies or
consortia have prequalified for a concession to operate a group of branch lines
in the Grand Est region, according to the region’s Vice-President responsible
for Transport David Valence.
Strasbourg –
Molsheim – Barr – Séléstat (51 km);
Strasbourg –
Molsheim (19 km);
Strasbourg –
Molsheim – Saales - Saint-Dié-des-Vosges – Épinal (147 km).
The 60 km section of line from
Saint-Dié-des-Vosges to Épinal has been closed since December 2018 with trains
replaced by buses. However, rail services are due to be restored by the end of
this year thanks to an allocation of €21m for track and infrastructure repairs.
At the moment services on this group of routes total 1 500 000 train-km/year.
The concessionaire will be required to
repair and maintain the sections of line between Arches and St-Dié-des-Vosges,
between St-Dié-des-Vosges and Molsheim, and between Sélestat and Obernai.
Maintenance of the multiple-unit fleet made available by the Grand Est region
will also fall within the concessionaire’s remit.
The second lot will also be let on the
basis of vertical integration, through a form of public-private partnership.
This covers restoration of rail services on the 89 km route from Nancy to
Mirecourt, Vittel and Contrexéville, where no passenger trains have run since
December 2016; the operation of related bus services form part of the
requirement. Grand Est has requested a transfer of responsibility for this line
under the Loi d’Orientation des Mobilités adopted on December 24 2019 and which
came into force around 12 months later.
The winning bidder will be required to
finance and implement restoration of the 81 km section between Jarville,
Pont-Saint-Vincent and Vittel. Work is expected to cost €66m, which the
concessionaire would repay over the 22-year period of the contract with an
expectation that 870 000 train-km would be operated annually. Journey time
between Nancy and Vittel would be around 1 h with trains running at hourly
intervals on weekdays.
Reopening is envisaged by 2025, after which
the concessionaire would be responsible for maintaining infrastructure and
rolling stock made available by the region.
Grand Est expects to award a contract for a
further group of services in 2025. This consists of seven routes that cross the
border into Germany; a contract for 30 Coradia Polyvalent trainsets to work
these services was awarded in October 2019.