New Alstom TER units are too wide (top story on France 2 News tonight)

[CalderRail]

A law is to be voted early next year to re-unite FFR and SNCF.

It'll be interesting to see what the EU will have to say to that; Ithought the whole reason for the separation was so that there could be operating competition.

That would be illegal under EU competition law.

 

[CC 72100]

That would be illegal under EU competition law.

What is it that makes it illegal? Would it be moreso for other companies running services on SNCF-controlled lines (such as Colas, who have a big french operation) than the actual worry of the same body being in charge of the infrastructure as well as the traffic on it?

The reason I say that is because the RATP controlled bits of the RER - which is heavy rail - has the same body responsible for both the trains and all infrastructure maintenance.

 

[Metrailway]

That would be illegal under EU competition law.

EC Directive 91/440 mandated the significant separation of infrastructure and train operations. As a result France separated off RFF from SNCF in 1997.

Germany, Austria and others on the other hand have separated infrastructure from train operations but have kept them under the same holding company. The EC for many years felt that Germany and Austria were flouting 91/440. When this finally came to court in 2012 the EC lost. The ECJ found that the separation of train and infrastructure operations in DB and ÖBB were sufficient.

The EC now wishes to introduce the 'Fourth Railway Package' very soon and this will mandate full separation of infrastructure and train operations. However, due to severe resistance by Germany, France etc, a derogration would allow certain countries which have train and infrastructure operations under the same company to continue with such an arrangement.

This is why France, which separated RFF and SNCF due to 91/440, is rushing back to reintegrate them.

 

[WatcherZero]

surely closer integration of RFF and SNCF wouldn't stop the civil engineers supplying the rolling stock procurement department with duff data?

Is my sentiment too, if a company solely concerned with infrastructure doesnt know its own infrastructure, how would a company that also had to deal with a myriad of other operational issues know better?

 

[jon0844]

Some good comments on this article:

http://www.theverge.com/us-world/2014/5/22/5740588/french-trains-error-sncf-too-wide-for-stations

(No, I never quite understand why The Verge covers stories that are extremely tenuous even for a 'tech site' but I guess it's just easy click bait).

 

[leytongabriel]

Living in Paris, there's been quite a bit of reaction here along the lines that the media have been indulging in a spate of SNCF-bashing. It's quite a popular sport as there is widespread resentment at the conditions of work and pensions of SNCF employees from people who don't have civil service status and those who are still looking to have the whole industry privatised.

 

[Myb]

One point that has not been brought up yet is that negotiations are underway between RFF and the "Régions" for the funding of the platforms alterations. Hence why some rumours allege that this "cardboard controversy" has been made up by the latter.

However, that does not elude that there was a lack of knowledge by RFF and SNCF on the "real" characteristics of the network. That meant the scope of the platform alterations required was identified relatively late in the procurement process.

 

[DownSouth]

There may be more to this story than you think and it could even have been deliberate.

A person I was chatting to who works in our state government's public transport authority said this is exactly the kind of thing they would consider doing "accidentally" (i.e. not at all accidentally) if they were being badly starved of necessary funding to keep routine maintenance on track or finish off a half-completed project.