FRANCE: Région Sud has selected SNCF Voyageurs for the contract to operate the Lot 3 package of Zou! branded regional passenger train services, which includes Marseille – Toulon – Hyères/Les Arcs, Marseille – Aix – Pertuis/Veynes – Briançon and Romans – Valence – Briançon services.
The région began tendering its services in 2019. Lot 1 covering the Marseille – Nice route was awarded to Transdev, and sole bidder SNCF Voyageurs won Lot 2 cover services from Nice to Les Arcs-Draguignan and Ventimiglia, the branch from Cannes to Grasse and the Nice – Breil-sur-Roya – Tende line.
Lot 3 contract
Transdev also bid for Lot 3, with the national operator named as the winner on October 17. SNCF Voyageurs will create a dedicated subsidiary, SNCF Voyageurs Sud Alpes Méditerrannée, to run the services.
The Lot 3 contract runs for 10 years from December 2029 and is worth €1·8 bn. The region is also spending €328m to acquire 25 CAF Régiolis trainsets, and €46m to build a maintenance facility at Briançon and upgrade the existing maintenance centre in Marseille.
The région said the contract offers a cost saving 30%, which will enable it to fund a phased increase in services, linked to events such as the 2030 Winter Olympic Games in the French Alps and to the Ligne Nouvelle Provence Côte d’Azur programme to upgrade the busy Marseille – Nice corridor .
