Dakar TER: Senegal 0, SNCF 1, pending extensions A year after its inauguration, the Dakar TER operated by the SNCF is very behind on its financial objectives but also in terms of attendance. Overview of a cacophony as only France has the secret. A year ago, the SNCF opened the first African TER in Dakar. Guillaume Pepy, the former boss of the SNCF, had indeed an objective: to achieve internationally 30% of the turnover of the SNCF house. The realization was carried out in record time after the abandonment of the RATP which also coveted this Dakar network. This is because Elisabeth Borne, at the time at the head of the RATP, hoped to make this project her showcase as part of the opening up to competition, especially since the company did not operate any TER in France. An ambition not pursued by the one who succeeded him at the head of the Régie. But the Dakar train was just as important for SNCF's expansion projects in Africa and emerging countries. In a joint letter dated November 13, 2015 that Le Figaro was able to read, Elisabeth Borne and Guillaume Pepy each praised the merits and know-how of their respective companies to Senegalese President Macky Sall. The SNCF finding itself alone, it immediately created on the spot the SETER (operating company of the TER) belonging 100% to the SNCF and backed by an empty shell called "SNCF International" directed by Diego Diaz. In just three years, the SETER teams will launch this train linking Dakar to Diamniadio. According to the company's forecasts, the line would carry 100,000 passengers a day, and would find its financial equilibrium after three years. And, following this pre-operation contract, a new commitment for three years should have followed. Jean-Pierre Farandou, the new boss of the SNCF, however, wanted to toughen the conditions of the new contract. The president of the SETER Stéphane Volant, Franco-Senegalese and former general secretary of the SNCF opposed it. He was immediately dismissed, to be replaced by Pierre Boutier, former Occitanie territorial director, without the Senegalese government having a say. In a letter dated May 12, 2022 addressed to Jean-Pierre Farandou, the Senegalese Minister of Infrastructure and Land Transport Mansour Faye contested the legality of this appointment, because, he said, it violated “Articles 29, 30 and 31 of the conditions general”. This letter was the equivalent of a declaration of war between Senegal and the SNCF. Especially since at the end of this first period with this new leader, SETER posted results well below forecasts: travelers were not there. Dismissals have followed at SETER, including that of its managing director Frédéric Bardenet. The SNCF having encountered difficulties in finding a successor among its staff, it took the decision to entrust the interim of this position to two outside contributors, Patrick Tranzer and Marc Burger. The latter, despite their lack of significant experience in the rail industry, invoice their service to the tune of 84,000 euros per month via Valtus Transition. Not to mention the external costs: permanent room at the Pullman hotel for one, and weekly round trips to Nouakchott for the other. Contractually, the SETER deficit is the responsibility of the Senegalese State. But, due to the international situation and the sharp increase in the price of raw materials, the latter found itself in difficulty and multiplied the delays in payment. The tone then continued to harden. In a letter dated June 24, 2022, addressed to the Minister of Transport, Pierre Boutier and Diego Diaz insist on the need to sign the three-year contract (the pre-operation contract ending) “to collect the sums due up to 25 78 billion CFA Francs including tax" and to avoid, continues the courier, "an inevitable degradation of the service". The threat of stopping circulation in the event of non-payment is barely veiled. From then on, the local press will make its headlines from the war between the SNCF and Senegal. "The general derailment", title Liberation on August 05, "the TER turns red" for the Daily on August 2, "the general management is derailed again" ... And to make matters worse, the press also seized the case of the formal notice from the Commission for the protection of personal data following the request made by the accounting manager Lamine Camara who was also immediately dismissed. “The situation is more and more deleterious” writes Liberation again on September 22. Taking advantage of this inextricable situation, the Meridiam company then made a spontaneous offer to take over the activities through a 25-year concession, thus assuming the entire deficit of the first years. This French company has also been chosen by Senegal to carry out the high-level service bus project underway in Dakar. A real "irritant" for the consultants of the SNCF who multiplied the round trips between Paris and the Senegalese capital to try to impose their conditions on the Senegalese State. "With arrogance", did not fail to underline a member of the Prime Minister's Office met on the spot. Seen from the Senegalese side, the main stumbling blocks of this new contract were the questioning by the SNCF of its "parent company" guarantee, its refusal to bring the Senegalese sovereign fund Fonsis into the capital, its request for a subsidy guarantee for three years and its lack of enthusiasm to appoint a Senegalese president. To avoid the risk of losing the contract, Jean-Pierre Farandou tried everything and flew to Dakar last Monday with Muriel Signouret and Diego Diaz. The French ambassador was able to organize at the last minute a meeting not scheduled on President Macky Sall's agenda. For a good half hour, the two men tried to find "common ground", which turned out not to be to Senegal's advantage. This agreement still remains to be formalized with the white within the board of directors of the SNCF, which did not respond to requests from Figaro. But especially that of the Senegalese Public Procurement Commission, which is very jealous of its independence. There remains the crux of the problem: namely to improve the service and bring in travelers so that this TER no longer needs public money to run. But nothing in the new contract pushes the operator SNCF to improve its results. In short, the Dakar TER project will undoubtedly serve as a model for the French regions to negotiate more and better with the SNCF. Without being impressed. BY THE FIGARO