- The Bordeaux-Lyon line will be launched in 2024
- It is created by the Railcoop cooperative which presents this original project
- The company launched in anticipation of the opening to competition of rail transport at the end of 2020
Libourne, Périgueux, Limoges, Saint-Sulpice-Laurière, Guéret, Saint-Germain-des-Fossés… These French stations will all be crossed by the new Bordeaux-Lyon line. The latter will be launched in 2024 according to the decision of the 14,000 members of the Railcoop cooperative.
The company, created in 2019, has lowered its ambitions and will only offer one daily trip instead of the three initially announced. For these trains that can accommodate 440 passengers, the trip will remain at a relatively moderate price: around 40 euros. It takes 6h47 to reach one of the two French cities.
Quoted by our colleagues from All-LyonNicolas Debaisieux, CEO, explains his ambition: “We want to complement the rail service and not compete with the existing service. The TER present on the territory are based on short distances unlike us. »
Freight activity soon to break even
Setting up such a project is not easy, as detailed on the site Here. Indeed Railcoop has already raised 7 million euros and secured 11 million euros in all. The various local authorities crossed are among the shareholders of the project.
But the cooperative is counting on another financial resource to move forward: freight, the activity of which started at the end of 2021. Since its beginnings in 2019, the company has indeed been operating timber transport trains between the municipalities of Figeac. and Saint-Gaudens in Occitania. The idea is to intensify this activity in order to balance the accounts by the end of 2023.
It will also be necessary to raise 4.1 million euros this year to initiate the Bordeaux-Lyon line. In the meantime, the society is trying to reduce its costs and is even asking its volunteer members to help out.
The Railcoop project is one of a kind. The cooperative was created in 2019 in anticipation of the opening to competition of rail transport in December 2020. It brings together citizens, railway workers, businesses and local authorities wishing to develop an innovative rail transport offer complementary to the SNCF public service.
To join them, it is possible to subscribe to shares at the rate of 100 euros per share directly on the site or by mail. However, you should also know that the cooperative can go bankrupt. In this case, the units you have invested in it may not be reimbursed to you.
