The president of the Sud-PACA region, Renaud Muselier, is a strong advocate for opening up to competition, which he believes is better for users.
“We are going to have stunning prices offered by public or private, French or foreign operators who will respond to these tenders,” he enthused in December 2019 at the launch of opening up to competition. “We will have trains on time, we will have discounts, with quality service!” he promised.
It was said, and it will be done! If the regional elected officials confirm this choice on October 29, the offer from the private transport group Transdev* for the operation of the TER route between Marseille and Nice will be selected.
For the first time, SNCF will lose a TER line in France. Three companies were in competition: the historical operator SNCF, Transdev, and the Italian Thello.
The Marseille-Nice railway connection, passing through Toulon, accounts for 10% of regional traffic in terms of the number of trains offered. The 10-year concession contract is estimated at 870 million euros.
With Transdev’s offer, “by 2025, traffic will be doubled,” increasing from seven daily round trips to 14, according to the Region, for “an equivalent price.”
