Velvet secures French operating licence ahead of 2028 launch

FRANCE: Velvet has obtained its Railway Undertaking licence from France’s Directorate-General for Infrastructure, Transport & Mobility, marking the first major regulatory approval on its path to launching high speed services between Paris and western France in 2028.

Announced on September 1, the licence allows the French start-up to move ahead with preparations for commercial operations, including applying for train paths, arranging access to infrastructure and developing the operating procedures needed for its planned network. If it launches as planned, Velvet could become the first privately funded French operator to compete with SNCF on domestic high speed services, with trains due to link Paris with Bordeaux, Nantes, Angers and Rennes from 2028.

Velvet said work is already underway on its Safety Management System and operating procedures, with the next major regulatory step being to secure a Single Safety Certificate. It added that obtaining the licence had brought it closer to testing its trains on the French network. It has ordered 12 Alstom Avelia Horizon sets, based on the same platform as SNCF’s next-generation TGV M fleet. The first was unveiled at Alstom’s La Rochelle site in April and is currently undergoing static testing.

‘The railway undertaking licence is an important step: it allows us to go further in preparing our trains, our teams and our procedures’, said Velvet co-founder and President Rachel Picard. ‘From the outset, we have made safety a reflex: every design decision, every operational choice is tested against this standard. It is this requirement that will allow our passengers to board with complete confidence.’

Targeting a gap in western France

Velvet, formerly known as Proxima, was founded in 2022 by former SNCF Voyages director Rachel Picard and Alpha Trains founder Tim Jackson. Backed by Antin Infrastructure Partners with around €1bn of investment planned for the first phase of development, its strategy is focused on western France, where Velvet argues demand on routes from Paris to Bordeaux, Nantes, Angers and Rennes is not being fully met by existing SNCF services.

Velvet’s progress comes as a slew of rivals have also targeted the newly liberalised French domestic passenger market. Newcomer Kevin Speed has pushed its launch back to 2030 amid funding and industrial delays, while Le Train is still awaiting French certification for the Talgo Avril trains it plans to operate, despite having secured its own operating licence in late 2022.

If the 2028 launch goes as planned, Velvet says its fleet would add around 10 million seats a year on the western corridors it plans to serve.