France Prepares to Open Regional Train Services to Competition
France has taken a big step towards rail competition by launching the new “Zou!” regional train service on the Cannes–Nice–Menton line.
Sud Azur
Last week, French and Monegasque politicians and public officials celebrated the launch of operations by Sud Azur, a brand new subsidiary of the French national rail company SNCF.
Although Sud Azur trains have been running for over two months (since the railway timetable change in mid-December), a special inauguration ceremony was held at the end of last week to officially mark the new service on the Cannes–Nice–Monaco–Menton line.
On the busy railway corridor between Cannes, Nice, Monaco, and Menton — a beautiful line along the Mediterranean Sea — there is now a regional train departing every 15 minutes during the day, with later services on Saturdays, using brand-new rolling stock.
Although SNCF-Sud Azur is now the company officially operating these regional trains, they are still branded as “TER Zou!”, just as they have been in recent years in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region.
Since French regions have a knack for giving their TER trains the most nonsensical names possible and making a confusing mess out of their branding, this is hardly surprising.
Villefranche-sur-Mer, one of the stations on the railway line between Nice and Menton. ©Paliparan
Regional train competition on the Côte d’Azur
By June 2025, the next step in opening regional train services to competition takes place when Transdev will take over the limited-stop regional service on the Nice–Cannes–Marseille railway line.
That moment will mark the first time in France that there is competition on its regional train (TER) network, with some regional trains being operated solely by a private company, without any involvement from SNCF whatsoever.
However, SNCF-Sud Azur will continue to operate other lines in the region, including the Cannes–Nice–Menton line, as well as the routes between Les Arcs–Draguignan and Nice, Tende and Nice, and Cannes and Grasse, since the company won the public tender for TER regional services on these routes.
TER Regional Train at the station of Mulhouse in France. ©AndyBTravels
Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur leading the way
The regional authorities of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur have been the strongest proponents of opening up regional railway lines to competition, believing it will enhance connectivity and improve the punctuality and quality of operations.
The tender for the limited-stop regional train services on the Nice–Cannes–Marseille line was awarded to Transdev in 2021, which won against a competing bid from Trenitalia.
Six other French regions have already followed the lead of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, and by 2034, all of France’s TER lines must be open to competition according to new laws.
Philippe Tabarot, the French Minister for Transport, said: “Opening up to competition is a powerful lever for improving the quality of service for users, a priority that I have placed at the heart of my work as Minister.
“I hope that the pioneering experience of the Sud Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region will prove useful to other regions as the 2034 deadline approaches.”
