“I knew it was a crazy project but I didn’t expect so many hurdles”, the founding CEO of Railkop Cooperative still wants to believe it.

Since last October, Nicolas Debaisieux, CEO of Railcoop, has been very discreet, preferring to “focus” on a new strategy to adopt to restart the railway cooperative created in the lot and still based in Figeac at the end of 2019. The company, the first of its kind to emerge in France in terms of opening up rail transport to competition, defends the new model by positioning itself on a complementary offer to SNCF. The objective: to run trains on a line that has sometimes been neglected for decades. Railcoop experienced rapid growth, even starting freight operations from Capdenac-Gere but quickly ran into significant financial difficulties. “I knew it was a crazy project but I didn’t expect it to cause so many obstacles. It just seemed like a lot of common sense to me” reveals the founder of Railcop who doesn’t give up.

“The coming weeks are going to be really critical”

Under the terms of the judicial recovery process announced in October, the structure was given a period of six months to find permanent solutions. April 15, 2024, the date of the hearing was set by the Cahors Commercial Court, so it promises to be decisive for Nicolas Debysseks. “The coming weeks are going to be really crucial. But this is not the first time that we have faced complicated things. And so far, we have managed to take action. It has been four years since we fought, that we try to bring a different railway model. We will continue.” Optimistic, the Lotois leader wants to stay the course. Around a tight team of four people, he puts all his energy into the war. And the funds we lack to finance traffic risk coverage. Railcoop is missing €10M to complete the financing round. So other financing strategies are being considered. “We are positioning ourselves in new markets and these commercial and technical Represents taking risks. In this uncertain context, banks were willing to finance but with guarantees. Keeping this in mind, we tried to focus on frugal development. At that time, freight financed with our own funds was growing at a slower pace than expected. And we were not able to raise the funds we had hoped for. We considered another model. Today we are bringing investment funds and Railcop will be the one to provide the service. Two investment funds, one Spanish and one French, are ready to follow us on this plan which was approved by the general meeting of October 7.”

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All hopes are high for Nicolas Debacex, delighted by the unprecedented dynamics of the members. Around 250 people took part in the Grand Defy Railcoup launched at the end of February, connecting on foot or by bike, with the co-operative dream of restarting between Bordeaux and Lyon. “We are seeing a strong commitment. My personal belief is that the members believe in it and it is worth believing in. We have a community of 15,000 members. It is a source of great pride. Today, it makes no sense. The rail network that uses Not happening. For some regions where there is no car option, the RailCoupe is a really important accessibility issue” assures Nicolas Debacex. Less than a month left to convince and get the venture on track.