Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Launches €5.7 Billion Rail Plan To Boost Capacity

The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in France has committed €5.7 billion to its regional rail network through the Mobilité 2035 strategy. The plan allocates funding until 2035 to increase daily passenger capacity from 220,000 to 300,000 and to introduce competitive tendering for Transport Express Régional (TER) services.

A total of €3 billion is designated for rolling stock, which includes the acquisition of 130 new multiple units and the modernization of 169 existing trains. An initial contract valued at €125 million has been awarded to Alstom for ten Omneo Regio2N trains, with delivery scheduled by October 2027. These units will supplement the region’s current fleet of 59 Omneo trains.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is evaluating a potential €500 million loan for a sub-project with an eligible cost exceeding €1 billion. This specific financing would support the purchase of 10 electric trains, three Regiolis Hydrogène dual-mode units, and the refurbishment of the 169 existing trainsets.

Infrastructure and maintenance will receive €2.7 billion, of which €2.2 billion is allocated for rail access charges. A further €250 million is directed towards maintenance infrastructure, including the construction of a new €52.3 million workshop in Clermont-Ferrand. A separate provision of €1.3 billion is budgeted for the ongoing maintenance of the entire fleet.

The strategy will terminate the regional monopoly held by SNCF Voyageurs by segmenting the network into five operational lots. These lots will be opened to competitive tender between 2029 and 2034. A separate functional lot will be established to manage passenger information and sales systems across all future operators.

To accommodate the projected ridership growth, the plan aims to add 60,000 seats to the existing 161,000. This expansion includes the development of six Metropolitan Regional Express Services (SERM), modeled on the RER system, with a focus on the network surrounding Lyon.