LFP Perthus: Toll bonus boosts train paths reservations 19/11/24
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Toll bonus boosts reservations for train paths on LFP Perthus' railway section
The increase between circulations in August, the month before the announcement, and those planned for December is 80%
The decision by the French and Spanish governments to reduce the price of travelling through the international railway section of the El Pertús tunnel is having the expected effect. According to the company that manages it, LFP Perthus, the number of freight trains planned for December has increased by 80% compared to the number of trains last August. Both months are relevant because August is the last month before the announcement of the reduction in fees - it was made at the end of September - and services were cut off due to works from the port of Barcelona, and December is the month in which the new rates come into force - on the 15th. Specifically, the company owned by Adif and SNCF Réseau recorded 24 "round trips per week" in the eighth month of this year, but has planned 43 in the twelfth.
+ 104%
Weekly circulations increase by 104% compared to December 2023
The measure to reduce the fee was agreed after a period of negotiations between the two States that share the cross-border section. The reduction is 90%, which has made the toll practically residual. It was an initiative long demanded by the railway industry, which saw the toll as a disincentive to international freight traffic in this mode of transport. In fact, the sector welcomed the change without hesitation, and already predicted the growth that would be taking place in the requests to use it.
The December increase is even more marked when compared to the previous year, as it doubles the 21 weekly runs that took place in 2023. LFP Perthus expects this to intensify in the next fiscal year 2025, and to continue growing in 2026. “It is true that we expect a strong increase in freight train traffic from the first quarter of 2025, there are more requests for international routes,” its sources confirm. At the same time, confidentiality prevents the Spanish-French company from yet offering specific data that reflect the magnitude of this increase.
The railway manager also points out that not all of December's traffic is due solely to the reduction in fees. "Part of this increase was for projects that were already being prepared before the announcement," they point out, but "the reduction in fees has had more of an accelerating effect." On the other hand, LFP Perthus also warns that "the figures we give" for December "are scheduled traffic, not the final real traffic, because an average of 20% of scheduled trains are cancelled due to strikes, line cuts, operational problems, etc."
If the trend is confirmed, 2025 will mark a turning point for a cross-border line that, after a good rebound in 2022 , was still experiencing rather declining freight traffic . Before being able to announce the reduction in tolls, the company had been offering other incentives for the passage of goods, such as night circulation or partial price reductions if certain conditions are met. These are instruments that LFP Perthus has already announced that it would maintain in parallel with the toll reduction. Likewise, the line has long been waiting for the launch of the Mediterranean Corridor in international gauge beyond Barcelona, connecting with the poles of Tarragona and Valencia, as another of the factors that will relaunch its volumes. "It is a final condition or 'obstacle' that - according to the elements at our disposal - will be solved in the short term," its sources have expressed in this regard.