With the explosion of energy bills, the SNCF had increased the price of its tickets by 5% on average in January 2023. Despite this increase, ticket prices could jump again in the coming months, and this over several consecutive years, reports Sunday Le Parisien. SNCF Réseau has indeed decided to raise the price of rail tolls. This increase, validated at the end of February by the Transport Regulatory Authority (ART), will first occur in 2024 and will be 8% for TER, and 7.6% for TGV and Intercités. This will be followed by two increases of 4% in 2025 and 2026.

All these increases are also linked to the current economic context, since these tolls represent 70% of the investments made by SNCF Réseau for track maintenance. "With the increase, we are catching up with the inflation we are experiencing on construction sites, due to the surge in raw materials," an administrator of SNCF Réseau told the daily. The company had also made a commitment to the State shareholder to return to financial balance by 2024.

Increase or optimize

This increase in the price of tolls, which are already the most expensive in Europe, should force the SNCF to further increases, since this amount constitutes 40% of the ticket price. "Our finances are already strangled and the state is not helping us," said Franck Dhersin, vice-president of transport for Hauts-de-France.



In concrete terms, SNCF Voyageurs and the regions could adopt two strategies. Either increase prices or "optimize supply", i.e. focus on the most profitable lines. In some cases, however, and in particular at the level of the national network, optimization alone may not be sufficient. "With the trains constantly full, maybe we will be able to free up enough money to support this increase, without impacting the passenger. But I doubt it," concludes an administrator of the SNCF.

  • Economy
  • High-speed train
  • SNCF
  • Train
  • Transport
  • Inflation