Transport express régional

French commuter rail

Transport express régional (tʁɑ̃spɔʁ ɛksprɛs ʁeʒjɔnal, usually shortened to TER) is the brand name used by the SNCF, the French national railway company, to denote rail service run by the regional councils of France, specifically their organised transport authorities. The network serves French regions; Île de France (Transilien) and Corsica (CFC) have their own specific transport systems. Every day, over 800,000 passengers are carried on 5,700 TER branded trains. TER is part of SNCF Voyageurs, a branch of the SNCF dealing with urban and regional passenger rail, which also includes Transilien, Intercités, Chemins de fer de la Corse (CFC), Keolis, and Effia.

SNCF established the TER system in 1984 to provide a framework for the management of regional passenger services. Since the end of the 1990s, it has been closely coordinated with the regional councils, who sign an agreement with SNCF on the designated routes, the number of connections, the fares and the service levels. TER services are heavily subsidised by French taxpayers. On average, 72% of the cost is borne by the State and the regional councils, with the travellers paying only about 28% of the cost. This cost tends to increase over time because the regional councils have steadily expanded the number of services. TER trains consist of single or multiple unit diesel, electric or dual mode rail cars, as well as some Corail carriages previously used on intercity routes.

Seven régions have been experimenting with the transfer of administration of the regional rail network since 1997: Alsace, the Centre Val de Loire, Nord Pas de Calais (the North), Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur, Rhône Alpes and the Pays de la Loire (Loire Valley), and, since January 1999, Limousin. In 1998, the traffic increased to an average of 4.9% in these seven régions compared with 3.2% in other regions. A few other regions are in turn signing on conventions interimédiaires in order to prepare for the increasing decentralization of the network: in particular, Haute Normandie in September 1997, Midi Pyrénées and Burgundy November 1997, Picardy in January 1998, and Lorraine in February 1998.

31 March 1994: The publication of the report Régions, SNCF : vers un renouveau du service public by the Haenel commission. 4 February 1995: The law of management and development of territory organized the transfer of responsibility of collective transportation in the interest of administrative regions. 19 December 1996: Signing of the first convention with the region of Rhône Alpes.