by hubie on (#6NE5S)
quietus writes:Historically, high-speed rail travel by Train a Grande Vitesse (TGV) in France was the monopoly of the French national rail service, SNCF.Under EU rules, all national operators have to make their rail system available to other willing operators. So in 2021, Trentalia, a unit of Italy's state rail operator, decided to offer high-speed train rides in France too.Now a third company has decided to enter the fray. The difference is that this is a private company named Proxima, backed by a (French) private equity firm (Antin Infrastructure Partners) to the initial tune of $1.1bn.Proxima will offer high-speed rail trips between Paris and four cities in western France - Bordeaux, Nantes, Rennes, and Angers, using 12 Avelia Horizon Trains. This will add 10 million new passenger seats on these lines, per year. According to the company,