End of venture for Railcop Cooperative, whose judicial liquidation will be announced on April 15

It’s the end for Railcoop. For several months moribund, the venture would end for the Lott Cooperative whose purpose was to restart the railway line between Bordeaux and Lyon. “The plan to exit the statutory receivership is now obsolete. As it stands, the Cahors Commercial Court should have no other option but to declare the liquidation of our cooperative on April 15, 2024,” Railcoup indicated this Wednesday March 27. A message to its members.

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Founded in 2019, the cooperative set the ambitious objective of launching this transverse connection through Périgueux, Limoges, Montluçon and Roanne. Initially planned for the summer of 2022, the launch was delayed several times, and Railcop was still counting on the second half of 2024.

It sought to raise an additional 500,000 euros from its 14,500 members to pay its suppliers’ salaries and invoices throughout the summer of 2023. But at the end of September, it had collected only 383,500 euros, forcing it to open a collective action before the Commercial Court, given the lack of funds.

A new “unsustainable” debt

Railcoop was placed into receivership in mid-October, starting a six-month period to find capital to guarantee its continued operation. The cooperative specifically planned to sell two trainsets – bought second-hand from the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region – that were stored by the company ACC M, which specializes in the restoration of railway equipment at its Clermont-Ferrand site.

But ACC M “claimed 880,000 euros from us in garage costs, in addition to 350,000 euros paid to audit the trains (which were not completed),” Railcoop said. In this dispute, the Clermont-Ferrand Commercial Court has ruled in favor of ACC M. on March 21 itself.

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“Through this decision, the court prevents us from proceeding with the sale of the two trainsets (which were signed), removing us from any source of short-term financing and leaving us with new, unsustainable debt,” Railcoop noted. “This unprecedented court decision seals the fate of RailCop. (…) It is with great regret that we send you this message, after spending months fighting to avoid the end of our great collective venture”, the cooperative concluded.

“Significant Risks”

On March 1, members of the “Friends of the RailCop” group linked Bordeaux to Lyon by foot or bike to support the cooperative, which has suffered a series of setbacks in the past year. It thus suspended its freight activity in April 2023 – which, in deficit, depleted its meager funds – between Vivis-Decazeville, in Aveyron, and Saint-Jorry, in Haut-Gironne, while discussions with regional bodies to guarantee bond loans took place. was done until the end.

During its last call for fresh funds, Railcop made no secret of its difficulties, commenting that “this subscription should not be seen as an ‘investment’, but as a gesture of support involving significant risks of loss of the subscribed money.”

Projects with no future

The direct connection between Bordeaux and Lyon was abandoned by SNCF in 2014 in favor of a TGV route with a change to Paris. Railcoop for its part planned the journey in 6 hours 47 minutes. In addition, the cooperative, which wanted to “reintroduce the train to neglected regions by bringing another vision in the service of economy, cooperation and ecological transition”. .

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It identified several lines in France to develop its offer, such as Massey-Placeau – Brest via Caen and Avranches, Clermont-Ferrand – Strasbourg via Dijon, or even Toulouse – Saint-Brieuc.

The Figac-based company is one of several projects competing with SNCF that have been set up to take advantage of the opening of competition in passenger transport in France, such as Le Train and Kevin Speed. These new rail operators should be able to offer seats on their trains from 2025 at the earliest.