High Speed Train Operator Velvet Aims to Offer Simplicity, ...

Le Figaro

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DECRYPTAGE - After raising EUR 1 billion, the French company, which competes with the public company, plans to operate its 12 trains in 2028.

TF1 INFO

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Velvet, a new company of TGV 100% French, will compete with SNCF. Its first trains will run from 2028 on the Atlantic facade. With a big challenge: to be known to the other two companies already installed, Trenitalia and Renfe. - "In 2028, you can ride with us": how the company Velvet will compete with SNCF on the Atlantic facade (Transports).

Le Télégramme

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In the start-blocks, the private companies Velvet (ex-Proxima) and Le Train aim to compete with SNCF on the Atlantic facade from 2028. Both have Rennes in the viewfinder.

Unidivers

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2028. A train slides at all speed on the LGV Atlantique. It does not wear the colours of the SNCF. It is called Velvet. Behind this silky name, a silent revolution of the French rail is announced. Far from the bustle of social struggles and chronic delays, Velvet wants to give back his letters of nobility to the journey in TGV and, above all, offer a credible alternative to the saturation of the western lines. Velvet is first and foremost a name…

economiematin.fr

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1st July 2025. A landmark day in the world of rail transport: Proxima becomes Velvet, and appears as the new player of the high rail speed on the Atlantic network. With a fleet of brand new Alstom trains, this new operator is preparing to shake the SNCF as early as 2028. Back from its foreign competitors targeting the South-East, Velvet bets on the West. Rachel Picard, co-founder of the company, sees it as not a bet but a necessity. His observat…