Dominique Bussereau submitted the conclusions of his mission on the future of high-speed rail services for regional development to the government on Saturday. The former Minister of Transport ruled out two radical solutions: neither a return to a monopoly nor the abandonment of the least profitable lines. His report favors a third way with a solidarity mechanism between rail operators, within the context of the gradual opening of the high-speed network to competition.
A structured and temporary system
This sharing arrangement would be governed by specific criteria and limited in time. The stated objective is to maintain services to less commercially attractive areas, without jeopardizing the liberalization of the rail sector. The chosen formula aims for explicit, measured, and neutral solidarity among the various operators in the market.
The government entrusted Dominique Bussereau with this task of finding a balance between economic viability and territorial continuity. The lines in question are those at risk of disappearing due to insufficient attractiveness to new private operators. The report proposes a temporary pooling of costs to maintain service to certain medium-sized cities currently connected to the high-speed rail network.
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