Page 16 - Annual report - Araf 2014

Araf 2014 annual report 16 FRENCH RAILWAY REFORM: NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR ARAF
Araf’s missions and prerogatives were extended pursuant to the railway reform of 4 August 2014, which is aimed mainly at fostering economic synergies that would end the drifting of the rail debt.
ff1. REVISITING KEY ELEMENTS OF THE 2014 RAILWAY REFORM
Subject to its implementing decrees, the Railway Reform Act of 4 August 2014, which entered into force on 1st January 2015, re-incorporated railway network management and commercial operation of trains and stations within the same perimeter, although they will be kept separate. One of the objectives is for this re-organisation to produce economic synergies between the railway operator and the network manager, attempting in that way to put an end to the drifting of the rail debt.
When RFF (the IM) was founded in 1997, the debt amounted to 20 billion euros, reaching 32 billion euros at the end of 2014 for the infrastructure manager and 7 billion euros for SNCF. It increases yearly by 1.5 to 2.8 billion euros.
FOUNDING A NEW INTEGRATED RAILWAY GROUP
The Act provided for a unified infrastructure manager by incorporating once again SNCF Infra and the directorate for rail traffic within SNCF Réseau (the IM). It also puts an end
to the split introduced in 1997 when RFF - Réseau Ferré de France had been separated from SNCF, the incumbent. Since the Rail Reform, these two establishments have been brought together under the same state-owned group called « SNCF ».
The Epic at the head of the group
NEW ORGANISATION OF FRENCH RAILWAY SYSTEM
SNCF
President of the supervisory board
Appointed by the State, the President manages the state-owned group
Supervisory board
State representatives (majority share); MPs; employee representatives; local authorities.
Board of directors
President of the railway operator President of the infrastructure manager
Appoints 1/3 of the Board members
Appoints 1/3 of the Board members
Control and strategic management Economic coherence Industrial integration
Social unity
SNCF Réseau Railway infrastructure manager
(Epic stands for public, industrial and commercial company) has a board of Directors made up of the president of the carrier SNCF Mobilités, i.e. acting president Guillaume Pepy, and of the president of SNCF Réseau, i.e. acting president Jacques Rapoport.
In case of a divergence of views, the president of the supervisory board has the final say. This supervisory board brings together representatives of the State, the Regions, the Parliament and employees.
SNCF Mobilités Railway operator, carrier
Frédéric Saint-Geours was appointed acting president of the supervisory board in November 2014.
THE HIGH COMMITTEE FOR THE RAIL TRANSPORT SYSTEM AND THE COMMITTEE OF OPERATORS
The Act created a new forum: the High Committee for the rail transport system, chaired by the Minister for Transport.
The Act also created a Committee of operators in charge of drafting a
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