Time goes by, and so do the politicians, but the tension continues to grow on the Nancy-Metz-Luxembourg line. This is a real artery that irrigates the Luxembourg economy with 11,000 to 15,000 people every day, but it’s in such poor health that those who do not take the train to Luxembourg prefer to spend an hour and a half to two hours on the A31 twice a day to fulfil their professional obligations. The new Luxembourg government group dealing with the thorny issue of absenteeism should take this into account in its deliberations, as should the impact of teleworking as a way of relieving the pressure at least once a week. Forget the overcrowded, overheated livestock trucks, which have long since stopped complying with safety regulations, and no one is bothered: at certain times in the morning and evening, there are far more passengers on these TERs than the regulations allow...
At a time when some people are dreaming aloud of the CFL taking over the Grand Est Region’s market from France’s SNCF, it’s not that simple. Here’s the first part of a two-instalment look at the ins and outs of the situation.
One of the busiest routes outside the Paris region
The Nancy-Metz-Luxembourg railway line (known as the “sillon lorrain” in fFrench) is strategic for cross-border workers: more than 25,000 journeys are made every day, making this one of the busiest links outside the Paris region. It is currently operated on the French side by SNCF’s TER Grand Est (line L1), but also relies heavily on Luxembourg infrastructure (between the border and Luxembourg City). This cross-border interdependence makes management of the line complex, especially as delays and train cancellations are frequent, causing dissatisfaction among users on both sides of the border. In 2024, the average punctuality of CFL trains reached 90.8%, but the link to Metz/Nancy remained the weak link in the network in terms of regularity.
There are several factors behind these difficulties: saturated infrastructure (in particular the Luxembourg-Bettembourg section, the network’s main bottleneck), ageing and inadequate rolling stock, technical incidents and strikes... In March 2024, the line users' association pointed to the delay in bringing into service 16 second-hand TER2N NG trainsets (purchased from Normandy) equipped for Luxembourg. These additional trainsets, which are not expected “before 2025,” were intended to increase capacity by 1,000 seats, but their approval has been delayed, prolonging the use of an ageing fleet. The lack of spare trains has led to cancellations as soon as a train breaks down. Users are proposing pragmatic measures (installation of emergency switches, triple trains on strike days, etc.), but are denouncing the “chronic under-financing” of infrastructure on the French side, which is out of step with the massive investments made by Luxembourg.
Opening up to competition: the European framework and official positions
In regulatory terms, the opening up of regional rail services to competition is provided for in the European Union’s fourth rail package. In France, since 2019, the regions have been able to issue invitations to tender for the operation of regional trains (or sign new contracts with the SNCF). In fact, back in 2017, the Grand Est Region considered opening up 10% of its TER network to other operators by the end of 2020, in response to complaints from users of the Lorraine corridor about transport conditions.
However, these projects have fallen behind schedule. In December 2023, the region finally signed a new TER 2024-2033 contract with the SNCF. This contract, described as “ambitious and innovative,” introduces a stricter performance regime (punctuality, quality of service) and explicitly provides for a transitional phase of gradual opening up to competition between now and 2033. In other words, the SNCF will continue to operate the entire Grand Est TER network for the time being, but the region reserves the right to delegate certain routes to other operators via calls for tender staggered over the next few years. Two long-distance inter-regional lines will in any case continue to be operated by SNCF Voyageurs under this scheme.
What about the Nancy-Luxembourg link? Its special status (as an international route outside the exclusive remit of a single organising authority) makes it both a candidate and a potential exception to competition. On the French side, the Grand Est Region has jurisdiction up to the Zoufftgen border. On the Luxembourg side, the government has chosen not to apply the fourth rail package in full: the CFL remains the sole operator on the national network and there are no plans to open it up to competition. 
There are several possible but complex legal solutions for another operator to run the Nancy-Luxembourg TER: the region could, in theory, issue a call for tenders limited to the French section (Nancy-Thionville/Zoufftgen) or conclude a joint public service contract with Luxembourg covering the entire cross-border section (as permitted by amended Regulation (EC) 1370/2007). In both cases, the participation of the CFL would be crucial. In practice, to ensure seamless continuity at the border, it would be difficult to have two operators taking turns in Luxembourg or Thionville; the operator chosen would have to cover the entire route. However, only the CFL can operate in the grand duchy (except for purely commercial “open access” services, which do not apply to TERs). So, if the competition opens up, the CFL appears to be the natural candidate for the takeover: it is a public player, cross-border by vocation, and has already shown an interest in the past. Back in 2017, Bausch did not rule out the CFL bidding for the TER Lorraine tender in 2024. More recently, Luxembourg “had unofficially positioned itself” to operate the line, according to Le Quotidien, before the 2021 deadline was pushed back.
Investments underway and political and financial issues
Luxembourg and the Grand Est Region have committed unprecedented investment to improve the capacity and reliability of the Lorraine trench, regardless of the choice of operator. A Franco-Luxembourg memorandum of understanding signed in 2018 (amendment in 2021) provides for 50/50 co-financing of numerous projects on the French side, for a total budget of €460m (with Luxembourg contributing €230m). Thanks to these funds, seven stations between Nancy and Metz saw their platforms extended to 250 metres in early 2024, to accommodate 240-metre double trains.
The Grand Est Region has purchased and refurbished 25 TER 2N NG trains with ETCS installation, and acquired 16 additional five-box trains (ex-Normandie), awaiting homologation, for €118m. A new €105m maintenance centre is being built at Montigny-lès-Metz to service these 41 cross-border trainsets between now and 2026. At the same time, Luxembourg is investing €1.7bn (2025-2028) in its cross-border rail infrastructure, in particular the new double-track Luxembourg-Bettembourg line (entry into service brought forward to mid-2027), which will increase capacity to France by 50% and allow eight TERs per hour at rush hour on the Thionville-Luxembourg section. From 2028, the stated aim is to run up to 10 trains per hour in each direction between Luxembourg and Lorraine (including eight TERs, one TGV and one freight train) to achieve a true metropolitan RER-type frequency.
This considerable effort is aimed at resolving the chronic overloading of the A31 motorway. It is part of the Lorraine-Luxembourg Metropolitan Regional Express Service (SERM) project, officially launched at the end of 2023 and included in the State-Region Plan Contract (CPER). Funding of €650m has been earmarked for this SERM in the 2023-2027 CPER. At the same time, in 2025 the Grand Est region will manage a section of the A31 motorway and is studying the introduction of an eco-tax on heavy goods vehicles and dedicated lanes for car sharing/TC in order to take action on all fronts of mobility.
The question of the future operator remains open: would these investments benefit more from a change of operator? Supporters of a CFL takeover point out that Luxembourg contributes financially to improvements (including the purchase of SNCF rolling stock) and has a vested interest in seeing efficient operation. They also note that CFL carried 5.66m passengers on line 90 Luxembourg-Metz/Nancy in 2023, an increase of 45% on 2022, and that it has recruited massively to keep up with demand. In 2024, CFL has again broken passenger records (31.3m passengers, +9%) and made a net profit of €25.6m, which it is reinvesting in the network. This dynamic performance, combined with the fact that public transport in Luxembourg is free of charge, gives the image of a solid, user-oriented company. Some passengers say they are prepared to “pay a little more for their season ticket to get trains on time,” even if this means changing operators.
(In the second part tomorrow: obstacles, reluctance and a perspective that is not yet clear)
This article was originally published in French.
