AN inquiry by the French parliament is to be held following a highly critical report by the country’s national audit office, the Cour des Comptes, into the split between train operations and infrastructure management.

France’s equivalent of Network Rail, Réseau Ferré de France (RFF), was set up in 1997—the same year that privatisation of Britain’s railways was completed—but the French auditors say the legislation for this had “intrinsic weaknesses” and led to “confusion of responsibilities” creating “serious dysfunctionalities.”

After the Cour des Comptes’ report was published, France’s Transport Minister Dominique Bussereau appointed a leading senator to head a parliamentary inquiry into the development of the railway industry and the 1997 reforms.

 “Complex and confusing procedures” for timetabling and path allocation—which are nominally RFF's responsibility—are criticised, and the Cour says that French national railways, SNCF, which operates the train services, has refused to transfer to RFF the staff involved in this function.

The Cour is especially critical of the arrangements for maintaining France’s rail network. This is the responsibility of RFF but it says the organisation does not have the resources to carry out the work because this is contracted back to SNCF.

Maintenance methods and processes are criticised as expensive and inefficient. The arrangements for lookouts are especially costly, representing as much as 10 per cent of the total cost of a maintenance project. The Cour recommends the introduction of automated lookout systems such as those used in Switzerland.

Examination of operating costs led the Cour to conclude there is considerable scope for improving productivity, notably when signalling equipment is modernised. It suggests that the number of signalling staff could be halved, but it finds that replacement of old equipment is proceeding too slowly.

Referring to the physical condition of the French network, and the increasing age of infrastructure assets, the Cour said a combination of maintenance and speed restrictions imposed on 1,300 route kilometres (808 route miles) has so far ensured safety, but “the risks of an accident are increasing.”

The poor state of the network had also led to a decline in punctuality, with the percentage of late passenger trains rising from 31 per cent in 1993-97 to 37 per cent in 2002-06.

A plan to improve network condition launched in 2006 had not been adequately funded, especially for the period 2010-15 when major renewals would be needed. RFF had an operating loss last year of 771m euros (£610 million) and net debt reached 27·4 billion euros (£21.7 billion).

The French auditors recommended that 55,000 SNCF personnel are either transferred to RFF or to a new subsidiary responsible for infrastructure maintenance—but the French railway unions have threatened industrial action if staff are “externalised.”

Finally, in a section of its report with echoes of the Beeching Report in Britain more than 40 years ago, the Cour des Comptes says that 46 per cent of the French network generates just six per cent of traffic. Even if environmental benefits are included, the economics of some lines are doubtful and the auditors say that some could be closed.