Supporters of the Southwest high-speed rail line slam the COI and appeal to the State

The main proponents of the high-speed rail line between Bordeaux, Toulouse and Dax dismissed, on Thursday, April 16, reservations expressed by the Infrastructure Advisory Council (COI) on the project, asking the State to honor its financial commitments.

In its report, revealed by the news site Contexte, the COI reports "divergent" opinions within its ranks regarding the construction of these new lines.

This advisory body, composed of experts and parliamentarians, "believes in any event" that the timetable for commissioning, planned for 2032 and 2034, should be revised to 2035 for the link with Toulouse, 2042 for the Bordeaux-Dax line.

As for the cost, estimated at 14 billion euros in 2020, the COI considers that a "revaluation of +20% approximately seems likely", and that "the State's participation will be difficult to mobilize at the level and within the framework to which it had nevertheless committed".

According to an agreement signed in 2022, the state is to finance 40% of the budget, as are the local authorities concerned, with the European Union providing the remaining 20%. However, the IOC recommends exploring alternative solutions.

"The report presents fanciful figures on costs and deadlines, before recommending that the State default on its signature on the financing plan," the Société du Grand Projet du Sud-Ouest (SGPSO) and the Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Occitanie regions slammed in a statement on Wednesday.

In January, proponents of the high-speed rail line ruled out a public-private partnership. This option is being considered, among others, by the COI (French Infrastructure Council), which, however, excludes participation from SNCF Réseau (the French national railway network) or the use of motorway revenues, a decision lamented by the project's backers.

"In view of the meeting with the Prime Minister, the communities of the South-West expect clear and coherent decisions from the State, commensurate with the commitments made and the stakes," their statement concludes.

A meeting on rail is scheduled for Tuesday at Matignon, between Sébastien Lecornu, the Minister of Transport Philippe Tabarot and the Minister of Public Accounts, David Amiel, with the presidents of the country's regions.

On Wednesday in the Senate, the Green senator from Gironde, Monique de Marco, called on the government to "take note" of the COI report and to "abandon" the South-West high-speed rail line.

Describing it as a "major public interest project", Philippe Tabarot stressed, however, that the question of its financing deserved "a serious and structured response".