SNCF's strange priorities

I was not impressed by the interview with M Vicherat, of SNCF ( SNCF boss: Why we renamed TGV service ‘inOui’, July 2017).

I find it hard to accept that SNCF has the interests of its customers at heart, or the acumen to deliver on its promises.

He doesn’t refer to the €40billion infrastructure deficit that it is carrying (let’s not mention the new carriages that were too wide for the platforms, costing over €50million). The TGV network is impressive but at what cost?

The real issue (which is, to be fair, touched on in the website version of the interview) is the state of the regional network and rolling stock. I can speak only of the Paris region and that is a travesty. The service is unreliable and the rolling stock a disgrace.

M Vicherat is offering only jam tomorrow. Changing the name to inOui seems a very strange priority to adopt.

SNCF has a long way to go. Unfortunately, so have we who rely on it.

Neil BLACKSHAW, Barbizon