THE Pays de la Loire region in northwest France has called for tenders to operate two groups of regional passenger services, branded TER under 10-year contracts that will commence in December 2024.
The Sud Loire lot consists of routes from Nantes to Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie, Pornic, Les Sables d‘Ollonne, La Rochelle and Cholet, and the Cholet - Angers, service. The tram-train lot consists of services from Nantes to Châteaubriant and Clisson.
The winning bidders will be revealed in mid-2023.
The region plans to tender a further three lots:
- Étoile Mancelle, consisting of services from Le Mans to Alençon, Nogent-le-Rotou, Laval, Château-de-Loir, plus Caen - Le Mans - Tours by January 2029 at the earliest
- Boucle Loire Bretagne consisting of Nantes - Rennes via Redon or Sablé-sur-Sarthe and Laval, and Nantes - Le Mans by January 2030, and
- Axe Loire, consisting of Saumur - Angers - Nantes - Le Croisic services by January 2032.
The process was launched in late-October, and follows on from similar actions by Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Grand-Est, Hauts de France and Île-de-France.
