Regional dialogue and consultation

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As a signatory to the Charter for Public Participation, we conduct our business with a focus on being open and listening to our stakeholders. The challenge? To improve the rail service offering by developing projects through consultation and regional dialogue with all players concerned.

Co-constructing with the State, the Regions and local authorities

While the State sets the broad guidelines for the development of transport in France, it is the Regions that implement them at regional level. The Regions are not the only funders: other local authorities (départements, metropolises and conurbations, municipalities) can also lead mobility projects (this is particularly the case for the Metropolitan regional express services). SNCF Réseau acts as a facilitator for all these players. In this way, we regularly provide our expert input in the various political choices in the field of rail transport.   

Sizing projects according to need

Dialogue with stakeholders is an essential prerequisite. It enables projects to be sized according to need, with a view to smart purchasing, economic performance and reducing the consumption of natural resources. 

Author : Matthieu Chabanel, Chief Executive Officer of SNCF Réseau

Our approach is...

  • Partnership-based with in-depth dialogue and follow-up  
  • Regionalised , taking into account the quality of service, mobility, planning and sustainable development issues specific to each line 
  • Structured with optimisation methods and decision-support tools 
  • Fuelled by transparent, educational information based on the data available to us (traffic studies, socio-economic analysis, environmental impact assessment, etc.) 
  • Focused on the right sizing of each solution to meet mobility needs, the desired level of sustainability and the available investments 
  • Expert with the technical equipment and innovative processes for implementation, operation and maintenance 
  • Sustainable with a contractual commitment over time 
  • Open to industrial partnerships at every stage of the project 
  • Virtuous , with a contribution to the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050 

Co-construction in four stages

Co-construction, as we see it, takes place in four stages, punctuated by ongoing dialogue with our stakeholders.   

  1. Emergence of need: opportunity assessment, preliminary study, public consultation, approval and funding of pre-project studies   
  2. Pre-project: programme optimisation, procedure files1, public consultation, approval and funding of project studies  
  3. Project: project studies, environmental integration measures, site studies2, tender documents  
  4. Implementation: purchasing, organising resources, informing local residents, works, monitoring environmental measures  

  

1. The procedural files concern the impact studies and the public inquiry.  
2. Environmental integration measures and site studies are then adjusted with local residents. 

How does consultation with each region take place?

Because our projects serve regions, we organise consultations with local residents, user groups, environmental associations, elected representatives and all interested economic players. The aim of these listening and sharing sessions is to provide information on the project's characteristics and to gather comments from the public.  

So what exactly are we talking about at this stage? We are talking about improved service, economic benefits, but also environmental impacts, particularly noise pollution. Consultation allows us to identify everyone's habits and expectations: it's an invaluable opportunity for constructing each project, with a view to constantly improving the rail service offering.   

Did you know?

There are compulsory consultations (governed by the town planning and environmental codes), voluntary consultations (for "sensitive" projects) and consultations that last for years (for very large projects). Every year, we organise around fifteen consultations!

Consultation in practice

SNCF Réseau has developed a position and expertise in terms of public information and participation. In practical terms, the consultation teams organise public meetings, workshops, meets and site visits, or any other method suited to the issues at stake in the project. Digital technology is also being used to encourage participation: campaigns on social networks, creation of websites or Internet pages dedicated to the projects and offering feedback forms.   

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