After the reopening of the Horlogers train line, which leaves from Besançon and goes to Switzerland at La Chaux-de-Fond, elected officials from all the communities on this route sent a resolution to SNCF, the State and the region, who manage the line to ask for better service. They were gathered this Thursday, December 23 in Valdahon to present it. For the moment, they believe that the connections are not sufficiently in phase with the needs of the territories and the users.
Adapt to increase attendance
Unsuitable hours for workers, train frequency sometimes too low, the new line of Watchmakers has flaws, according to the mayor of Morteau, Cédric Bolle. Despite the 55 million euros committed for its renovation, they could well harm the success of the line: “If we cannot effectively match supply to demand, if we do not meet user expectations, necessarily, for the sake of comfort, everyone will continue to use their car.“.
For now, attendance remains low, but the potential is there for elected officials. Thereby, to increase attendance, all ask to readjust the offer to make it correspond to the expectations of potential passengers, which had already been done at the beginning of the 2000s, between 2002 and 2005, with success, according to Patrick Réal, of the FNAUT (National Federation of associations of ‘transport users): “This resulted in double-digit attendance growth for several years. Attendance on the line increased by 37%. It is most encouraging. It shows that when the offer improves, there is an answer behind“, he says.
_Pto improve the offer, all parties must be able to take part in the discussions. A position defended by Anne Vignot, the mayor of Besançon. “Whether it is the State, the SNCF, the region, the communities and of course, the companies, the inhabitants, we need to have a consultation which resembles a consultation”, explains the president of Grand Besançon.
For now, elected officials are awaiting the response of the region, the State and the SNCF to their resolution.