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The third public consultation on the route started recently, as you say. There are a number of points of local friction - north of Toulouse, for instance, or at Agen. The kind of problem that usually ends up getting fixed.
But the PPP financing with Vinci comes in for more and more criticism. Vinci is pushing the envelope up to 8bn, more than the Tours-Bordeaux section. At the same time, the State claims not to have the means to finance directly.
From the (April) newsletter of the Europe Ecologie-Les Verts representatives on the Midi-Pyrénées regional council:
Voici des mois que les élu-es régionaux Europe Ecologie Les Verts défendent la liaison Paris-Bordeaux-Toulouse en TGV par le réaménagement des lignes existantes, notamment parce que le financement du projet en partenariat public privé apparaissait complètement irréaliste. L'actualité de la semaine vient conforter la position des écologistes : le TGV n'arrivera jamais à Toulouse si les différentes parties prenantes s'obstinent à croire qu'il est possible de réaliser un projet alors que de plus en plus de collectivités se désengagent, que RFF tire le signal d'alarme, que Vinci réclame à RFF 60 millions d'euros supplémentaires faisant ainsi exploser la facture au delà des 8 milliards d'euros...
For months now the regional representatives of EE-les Verts have been supporting the Paris-Bordeaux-Toulouse TGV connection by conversion of the existing lines, notably because the project finance by PPP seems completely unrealistic. This week's news [the Lot pulling out] backs up the ecologists' position: the TGV will never reach Toulouse if the different stakeholders obstinately go on believing it is possible to complete a project while more and more local authorities pull out, while RFF sends alarm signals [about financing], and Vinci demands 60mn more from RFF, pumping up the bill to over 8bn...
EE-les Verts argue their position in favour of a cheaper project (at 220 kph), in this pdf (in French).
Hm? What does Vinci have to do with the price of a contract nowhere near even PPP tendering? Isn't Vinci pushing up its contract price for Tours-Bordeaux to 8 billion? In the linked document, EE-les Verts put the "extra" price tag of Bordeaux-Toulouse at 2 billion, RFF the full price at 2.8-2.9 billion.
EE-les Verts seems to argue for 220 km/h in general, though their travel time comparison is for Paris-Toulouse with Tours-Bordeaux built as planned. They sadly make the argument by not considering capacity, and give bad examples to follow (Germany: before they think a half-measures high-speed system is good, first compare ridership; Austria, Switzerland: compare domestic travel distances; USA: long-distance rail transport role model, really?). And it appears they seem to see the financing and ticket pricing models they criticise as inevitable rather than the problem. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
I suspect there is a lot of infighting as usual in les Verts over this (I know for a fact a good many Verts are opposed to the TGV, full stop.) So the resulting policy support is for a compromise, let's back 220kph...
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