Supervisory Board meeting of October 07, 2024

Alain Rousset, President of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region and Chairman of the Société du Grand Projet du Sud-Ouest (SGPSO), and Carole Delga, President of the Occitanie Region, in the presence of Pierre-André Durand, GPSO coordinating prefect, and Carlo Secchi, representative of the European Commission, brought together the partners of the Ligne Nouvelle du Sud-Ouest in Bordeaux on Monday October 7.

Elected representatives were given an update on the project and the strategy for developing the Ligne Nouvelle du Sud-Ouest. They particularly appreciated the support of Europe, which is providing €19.5 million in funding for 2024. Prof. Carlo Secchi, coordinator of the Atlantic transport corridor for Europe and the institution's representative on the SGPSO, spoke in particular about the agenda of the new Commission and the priorities of the new Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas. The partners were also delighted with the conclusions of the report of the commission of inquiry for the environmental authorization submitted to the Prefect on September 30, with a favorable opinion and recommendations.

The members of the Supervisory Board then voted on the details of the creation of a Territorial Solidarity Fund to be set up in 2025 by the State and SGPSO. This fund will enable local players in the socio-economic, cultural and ecological fields to participate in the emergence of development projects based on the New Line, or to mitigate residual negative impacts that could not be avoided as a result of the avoid-reduce-compensate approach.

« Le GPSO n’est plus un projet mais un chantier depuis quelqu“The GPSO is no longer a project, but a construction site. The Ligne Nouvelle du Sud-Ouest is under construction, and this is excellent news for the people of the Sud-Ouest. The report of the commission of inquiry for the environmental authorization of the AFSB submitted to the Prefect of Gironde is very positive and demonstrates the quality of the work of our partnership. Contrary to what we sometimes read, the vast majority of contributions relating to the subject of the public inquiry are positive and have enabled us to draw up recommendations, which we will follow to the letter, in the interests of users and local residents, for the development of daily mobility” declared Alain Rousset, President of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region and Chairman of the SGPSO public body.

“Following the decision of the Toulouse Administrative Court, which confirms that the rail developments to the north of Toulouse and the Toulouse-Bordeaux-Dax New Line are a positive solution for our region and the environment, I welcome the conclusions of the Commission of Enquiry into the rail developments to the south of Bordeaux, which are along the same lines. If we are to improve high-speed services to the region, and increase the number of daily trains, we need a New Line that will double the track length. The inhabitants of the South-West are impatient to be able to count on this new service. At the same time, it's vital to reduce our carbon footprint. In this respect, the train is the most appropriate mode of carbon-free public transport,” declared Carole Delga, President of the Occitanie Region.

Carlo Secchi, European Coordinator for the European Atlantic Transport Corridor, emphasized: “The new Commissioner-designate for Transport, Apóstolos Tzitzikóstas, has received a mandate from President Ursula von der Leyen for the period 2024-2029, clearly stipulating the desire to see an ambitious plan to connect European capitals with a high-speed network. The LNSO is clearly a key link in this plan to connect Lisbon and Madrid to Paris.”