France's Macron unveils high-speed train as SNCF gets ready to shed up to 3000 jobs

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday unveiled a mock-up of the next generation of greener super high-speed trains, known in France as TGVs — four decades after the first TGV was launched. But will new trains be enough to keep the SNCF, France's state-owned railway company, on track?

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks in front of a life-size replica of the next high-speed train TGV, at the Gare de Lyon station Friday, Sept. 17, 2021 in Paris. France unveils a super-fast, climate-friendly train of the future, the next generation of its high-speed TGV trains that have been emulated around the world. French President Emmanuel Macron and other government officials are holding a ceremony at the historic Gare de Lyon train station in Paris to mark 40 years since the unveiling of the first TGV, or "train a grand vitesse." AP - Michel Euler

At a presentation at Paris' Gare de Lyon railway station, Macron played up the new train's eco-friendly aspect.

“This decade for the TGV will be about innovation," Macron said, adding that France must “respond to the challenge of moving around by emitting less and promoting new energy forms.”

Macron spoke in front of a full-scale model of the new TGV M. It will carry more passengers — 740 compared to the current train's 600 — and is planned to enter service in 2024. It will also use one fifth less electricity than the current model, while maintaining its top speed of 320 kilometers per hour.

The ceremony took place 40 years after another French president, François Mitterrand, launched his bold new gamble in technology at the same station — the first TGV, or “Train a Grande Vitesse” ("High Speed Train").

Picture of a first version of a TGV train arriving in Gare de Lyon in Paris, in the 1970s. © Wikimedia commons

With a line speed of over 270 km/h, according to France's SNCF railway company, that train went on to change the face of modern train travel. It has since been emulated around the world, including recently in the U.K.'s highly anticipated HS2 project.

Macron’s government has promised 6.5 billion euros in new investments this year to expand high-speed train lines, and boosting train use has been part of his government’s strategy to reduce emissions.

Privatisation

But there's a more pressing reason to modernise as well: privatisation. According to a statement by the SNCF, in the 2000s, the markets for freight and international passenger travel opened up to competition. More recently, regional and long-distance passenger rail (high-speed service and Intercities) are following. 

According to the SNCF, France officially opened its passenger railway system to competition by private enterprises in December 2019, when bidding started, and as of December 2023, the French state actors are required to put bids itself as well and the entire national rail network, except for certain suburban RER links, will be open to  EU-wide competition.

Earlier this month the Marseille-Nice line became the first to be operated by a private entity - Transdev, a French company headquartered in Issy-les-Moulineaux - instead of the SNCF.

Feeling the pressure, SNCF's CEO, Jean-Pierre Farandou, told BFM TV that the group will suppress between 2,000 and 3,000 positions, or 1.5% to 2% of its total workforce.

Jean-Pierre Farandou prévoit la suppression de "2000 à 3000 postes" à la SNCF pic.twitter.com/JulF7QtR5e

— BFMTV (@BFMTV) September 17, 2021

"In terms of job cuts, this is a historic trend, no more, no less than usual, it's around 1.5% -2%. You apply 1.5% -2% to 140,000, you are around 2,000 to 3,000 ", he declared on BFM TV, without specifying at which positions will be abolished.

The railways were already in trouble as a result of a series of strikes at the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020, which paralised train traffic, and the consequent lockdown of France as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, which largely reduced the amount of travellers.