Regional express transport
In the transport express régional ( TER ) is a sub-company of the French state railway SNCF , the regional traffic in the administrative regions operates.
overview
The SNCF set up the TER system in 1984 in order to be able to create a basic framework for local transport . Since the end of the 1990s it has been coordinated with the 22 administrations of the respective regions of France . The companies in the respective regions determine the routes, the number of connections, the fares and the range of services in accordance with the SNCF.
The TER system is heavily subsidized by taxpayers. On average, 72 percent of the costs are borne by the state and regional administrations, while only 28 percent of the costs are covered by ticket sales. Experience has shown that these costs explode over time as regional administrations strive to expand the offer in their regions.
The low profitability of the TER system is mainly due to the fact that the trains are busy in the morning and evening due to commuter traffic, but are chronically understaffed at other times of the day. As a result, the capacity utilization of the trains is not particularly high; the vehicles drive with an average load of only 66 passengers per trip.
Handing over responsibility
Seven of the twenty-two regions have experimented with taking responsibility under their own direction since 1997: the TER Alsace , TER Center , TER Nord-Pas-de-Calais , TER Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur , TER Rhône-Alpes , the TER Pays de la Loire and since January 1999 the TER Limousin .
In 1998, traffic in these seven regions increased by an average of 4.9 percent, compared to 3.2 percent in the other regions.
Some other regions have signed conventions intermédiaires to prepare for the decentralization of the network: the TER Haute-Normandie in September 1997, the TER Midi-Pyrénées and TER Bourgogne in November 1997, the TER Picardie in January 1998 and TER Lorraine in February 1998.
history
- March 31, 1994: Publication of the Régions report , SNCF: vers un renouveau du service public by the Haenel Commission.
- February 4, 1995: The law on the administration and development of the region places responsibility for local rail passenger transport in the hands of the regions.
- December 19, 1996: Signing of the first contract with the Rhône-Alpes region .
Budget
Some figures published by the regions:
region | TER budget | Share of the annual regionalization funds |
status | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Alsace | € 220 million | 39% | 2004 | Experimental regionalization since 1997 |
Brittany | € 100 million | 14% | 2005 | |
Bourgogne | € 100 million | 25% | 2005 | |
Champagne-Ardenne | € 55 million | 12.5% | 2004 | |
Franche-Comté | € 70 million | 20% | 2005 | |
Lorraine | € 250 million | 45% | 2005 | |
Nord-Pas-de-Calais | € 260 million | 21% | 2003 | Experimental regionalization since 1997 |
Picardy | € 130 million | 20% | 2002 | Intermediate level since January 1998 |
Rhône-Alpes | € 500 million | 30% | 2005 | Experimental regionalization since 1997 |
These figures do not include infrastructure spending.
TER and tourism
The SNCF has designated nine TER offers as trains touristiques :
- Chemins de fer de la Corse (trains in Corsica )
- Train des merveilles (train of miracles)
- Train des gorges de l'Allier (Train of the Allier Gorges ), runs on part of the Cevennes Railway
- Ligne Saint-Gervais – Vallorcine (Mont-Blanc-Express)
- Ligne de Cerdagne ( Cerdagne route) in the Pyrenees , also called Train jaune (Yellow Train)
- Autorail Espérance ( Rail Bus of Hope), from Bergerac to Sarlat-la-Canéda
- Chemin de fer du Blanc-Argent (route from Le Blanc to Argent-sur-Sauldre )
- Train des Alpes (alpine train)
- Ligne des hirondelles (swallow line), from Andelot-en-Montagne to La Cluse
Web links
- TER SNCF - Page d'accuel TER national. Retrieved July 23, 2010 (French).