Thalys becomes independent company

The French and Belgian railway authorities, SNCF and NMBS, have completed the formalities to hive off the high-speed train service Thalys as a separate and independent company. The two authorities will continue to own the service, 40% to the NMBS and 60% to SNCF.

The goal of the move is to allow faster and more efficient decision-making, the two authorities said in a joint statement. Thalys will be responsible for its own rail infrastructure, rolling stock and personnel.

When it was set up in 1996, Thalys was a consortium, which also included the Dutch NS and the German Deutsche Bahn, with each country responsible for Thalys traffic within its territory. The system proved complicated: Thalys was, for example, not allowed to contact its drivers directly but had to go through the rail authority where the train was currently located.

Germany and the Netherlands have now stepped out of the Thalys holding, though German ICE hi-speed trains, as well as the French TGV, continue to operate in Belgium under NMBS licence.

Thalys personnel will now increase from 200 to 550, taking on about 150 staff of the NMBS who will be seconded to the service, while retaining their status as NMBS employees. NMBS will receive €75 million a year from Thalys for maintenance of trains at its Vorst depot in Brussels, for ticket sales and for the seconded staff. At the same time, the rail authority is now relieved of €12 to €15 million a year in investments.

“Thalys is starting a new chapter,” said CEO Agnès Ogier. “Manoeuvrability and efficiency will be improved, thanks to this simplified structure. That will allow us to reach new heights.”

Ogier also announced that Thalys intends to increase the frequency of its journeys on the Brussels-Amsterdam route to 14 a day by 2016. It will also add Dortmund to its destinations in 2017, as well as introducing a lower priced last-minute ticket for groups of passengers.

photo courtesy Mauritsvink/Wikimedia