The new environmental law in France: Priority for passenger transport

11-06-2009 15:13

In the field of passenger transport, the main objectives stipulated by Grenelle 1 include: reducing the use of hydrocarbons as a source of energy, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other forms of pollution (noise, etc.) and increasing energy efficiency by creating an integrated and multimodal transport system. To that effect, the law gives priority to railway, maritime and fluvial transport and stipulates the priority development of public transport use.
In the field of infrastructures, in case of short-distance (inter-urban and periurban) and long-distance (domestic and international) transport, priority will be given to railway projects, to the detriment of road and air transport projects. The French State will make sure that, in case long-distance transport in France and in Europe, the passengers will benefit from railway alternatives to air transport. The State will also improve the links between large airport platforms and the high-speed railway network and encourage the use of public transport means to and from the airport.

“High-speed”, very much appreciated

Continuing the projects for the development of the high-speed network will help improve the rail links between the regional capitals and Paris, as well as the European networks. The French State will allocate EUR 16 Billion to finance an investment programme for the development of 2.000 km of new high-speed railways by 2020.
The funds will be used mainly to complete the stages of the following high-speed projects: South-Europe-Atlantic; Brittany -Loire; Paris-Strasbourg; Rhine- Rhône; the French sections of the Lyon-Turin railway line and the Mediterranean Arch (which will link Barcelona and Genoa), as well as the southern high-speed link to Paris.
An additional project will be developed for the construction of 2.500 km (which will include Paris-Orléans-Lyon railway line), the elaboration for the necessary studies for the Paris-Amiens-Calais and Toulouse-Narbonne lines, in order to connect them to the South-East and South-West high-speed lines, and for other small sections. Once the studies for these additional projects are finalized, they will be selected for execution, in case some of the projects included in the first 2.000 km “package” will be delayed.  
The areas without high-speed networks will receive special attention, mainly for the conventional railway services, which will be improved in terms of speed, reliability and comfort. The French State will encourage the construction of new infrastructures, especially if they cross overcrowded urban areas, as well as new solutions for organising the existing lines.

Public transport, the solution to mobility and social integration

At urban and periurban level, the French State will support the elaboration of plans for relocating enterprises, administrative organizations, schools, etc. The urban transport authorities will be given the necessary competencies to define a global policy for sustainable mobility. As for the public transport, which has priority, the law focuses on improving its use on the outskirts of cities and the development of tram, trolley, etc. networks. The total length of these networks will increase in the next 15 years from 329 km to 1.800 km, not including Paris. The cost of this programme has been estimated by the local communities to EUR 18 Billion, of which the State will allocate EUR 2.5 Billion by 2020 and also provide support for the regional communities to obtain the necessary financial means. The priority projects will be those which will focus on reducing pollution, maintaining biodiversity and integrating the means of transport in the urban space. In order to achieve a better interconnection between the various networks, metropolitan agencies will be created as experiment; they will benefit from extended competencies in terms of public transport organisation and management.
As for Ile-de-France, Grenelle 1 stipulates the consolidation and fluidization of the public transport offer. The focus will be placed on creating links between the peripheral areas. To that effect, the main project on this matter is the one for an automated underground system around Paris. At the same time, other objectives are important: rehabilitating the RATP networks and SNCF’s proximity train network; modernising the rolling stock; improving train punctuality and the transport conditions; improving the real-time passenger information systems for the traffic conditions, possible delays and train cancellations. In order to cover the costs of the projects which fall under the Environmental Law, the French State will identify the necessary financing sources for Paris and its surroundings.

New horizons

In order to implement the provision on transport, the law stipulates the elaboration of a national draft of transport infrastructures, in collaboration with the interested parties. This draft has to be elaborated this year and it has to revise the decisions of the inter-ministerial committee for land planning and development from December 2003. The project included in this draft will be selected based on the sustainable development criteria stipulated in the Environmental Law (reduced greenhouse gas emissions, prevention of network saturation, environmental protection, multimodal accessibility, integration of the areas that are not connected to the network, improvement of efficiency, safety and coherence for the existing transport systems, improvement of the access for disabled people).
By 2013, a national group will be created. This group will monitor the large infrastructure projects and evaluate the measures taken. The group will be made up from representatives of the Parliament, Government, local communities, unions, professional organisations and civil societies. The projects that will be monitored and evaluated, as well as the control methodology will be established by order from the Ministry of Transport. The group will reconvene at least once a year, and its meetings will be made public.
As an addendum to Grenelle 1, this fall, the debate concerning Grenelle 2 (Law on National Environment Commitment) will continue. Submitted to the Council of Ministers and later on to the Senate in the beginning of January 2009, the law draft was conceived as a “legal toolkit” for Grenelle 1. This bill will include a series of practical dispositions for the implementation of the initial law.
This fall, the debate concerning the Law on guided and railway transport management and regulation will continue. This law draft stipulates the creation of an independent administrative authority, the Railway Regulatory Committee, which is briefly mentioned in Grenelle 1. The law will include more precise dispositions concerning the creation and activity of railway proximity operators, whose importance is also mentioned in Grenelle 1.

Vigilance and additional investments, solutions for a maximum effect

Seeing as Environmental Law as an innovative answer to all the problems related to environment protection and welcoming the elimination of the political factor from the elaboration of environmental strategies by involving all the parties interested in various debates, a study elaborated by the Boston Consulting Group analysed the economic result of the legislative provisions. Aside from the positive impact on the environment, the programmes stipulated in Grenelle 1 will help re-launch the economy by generating, in 12 years’ time, an activity of EUR 450 Billion, of which EUR 170 Billion will come from the State and the regional communities. This way, France will exceed the USA and Germany in terms of the annual public expenses (EUR 14.3 Billion/year in France, compared to EUR 8.5 Billion in the USA and EUR 5.2 Billion in Germany) and their percentage from the GDP (0.9% in France, compared to 0.1% in the USA and 0.3% in Germany).
The programmes stipulated in this law will create 600.000 new work places during 2009-2020, especially in the case of infrastructure projects. The measures taken in the transport sector will have a significant economic impact, by reducing the travel time necessary for passenger/freight transport, as well as by reducing the energy consumption. On a social scale, the transport projects have a positive impact; they help improve mobility and social integration.
However, the study draws attention on the possible problems which may result from these transport projects: the opposition of the local communities; the complexity of the operations and the long time necessary for their completion; the need for significant funds, aside from the State financing. Some of the solutions provided by BCG include: a very close supervision of the project implementation, in order to solve in due time the operational or political obstacles. Another solution would be to increase the State financing for the less attractive projects.

Felicia Gheorghieş

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