The dream of a shared and participatory train company is turning into a nightmare. Gathered at a general meeting on October 7 in Figeac (Lot), the members of the railway cooperative Railcoop – a unique case in the world – voted 88.5% in favor of continuing the activity and 85.5% in favor of in favor of continuing negotiations with the Spanish investment fund Serena Partners, which could save the company’s financial situation. Because, since its creation in 2019, this cooperative society of collective interests (SCIC), which wants to relaunch passenger and freight train lines, has encountered difficulties and failures.
At the beginning of the summer, a fundraising campaign had not achieved its objectives and management had contacted Serena Partners to try to pay off debts which would amount to one million euros, and increase the capital by creating an annex company. After the shutdown, at the start of the year, of a goods transport line between Figeac (Lot) and Saint-Jory (Haute-Garonne), the commissioning of the Lyon-Bordeaux line, for travelers, is for its part postponed again. “This very broad support expressed by our members, 6,000 voters, with a participation of 42%, is a valuable encouragement for the governance of Railcoop”, management reacted. However, she specifies that “If we manage to define credible solutions, we will propose to the commercial court a “continuation plan”, to open a judicial recovery procedure. » With a budget of around 8.5 million euros, Railcoop was very far from the financial objectives posted in 2020, of around 50 million euros.
Insufficient budget and contested choices
In a European context of opening up rail competition, the company wanted to reopen old unused lines, and involve users and travelers in an original cooperative model, by integrating local and departmental authorities. With nearly 16,000 members, Railcoop quickly encountered an insufficient budget and the difficulty of working with SNCF Réseau, as well as choices deemed questionable by its management.
“Despite obtaining traffic slots, SNCF Réseau imposed heavy technical constraints on us and above all demanded a fee on the lines which condemned us”, says a member, who wishes to remain anonymous. Tensions also emerged within the company, after the steps taken with Serena Partners, “far from the cooperative spirit”, according to the member.
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