The French high-speed rail system (HSR) is older than most countries. However, this country is facing challenges. The geographical extension of HSR is an example of this kind of issue. The case of two peripheric regions located in the South (Occitanie region) or in the East (Bourgogne Franche-Comté region) of France highlights the problem for this mature HSR system. The decline of public expenditure is the major determinant of the lack of infrastructure in these regions. In recent years, the French state has decided to finance the maintenance of conventional lines. Indeed, this network was gradually abandoned while the HSR system was growing (Zembri, 2017).
Our presentation wants to highlight the main problem in France in the recent case of two different regions. Occitanie region is a peripheric region in which the competition between the rail transport (TGV, Night train) and the air transport is strong in terms of long-distance trips (to Paris for example) (Carrouet, 2020, 2018, Revelli, 2019). The situation is quite different in the case of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region. A great HSP project, the LGV Rhin-Rhône planned in the middle of the 1990s, is partially being carried out, with the section of Branche Est from Dijon to Mulhouse.
In the context of sustainable development, France represents a good example of a situation of duality between HSR and conventional rail, and uncertainties about the future of HSR projects. This French context shows the rising power of the region by a more important funding in HSR projects with the aim of improving their accessibility and regional economic development.
Mots clés : HSR|French region|conventional rail|funding|peripherie
A102374GC