2022 Universal Registration Document

SOUTH EUROPE ATLANTIC HIGH-SPEED LINE

Designed, financed, built and operated by VINCI and its shareholder partners in LISEA, under a concession contract with SNCF Réseau running until 2061, the South Europe Atlantic high-speed line (SEA HSL) crossing western France between Tours and Bordeaux has reduced travel time between Paris and Bordeaux to two hours. Traffic on the line – 340 km including 38 km of connecting lines – continued to grow after the period of disruption due to the health crisis, rising to 87% of 2019 levels over the year. The second busiest high-speed line in France, after Paris–Lyon, the SEA HSL has carried almost 100 million passengers since it was brought into service mid-2017. According to the data collected by the socio-economic observatory set up by the concession company LISEA, the rail line has had a strong impact on development of the greater Bordeaux area – rated the third most attractive French city in the Arthur Lloyd survey for 2021 and 2022. Combined with the reorganisation of TER regional express train schedules to optimise connections, it has also substantially increased traffic on the regional network in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, boosting economic development and tourism across the broader south-west region of France.

The technical performance of the line, which has posted service regularity of almost 95% since it was brought into service, also contributes to its success. MESEA, the 70%-owned VINCI subsidiary responsible for maintenance of the line, has obtained triple Afnor certification for Quality Management (ISO 9001), Environmental Management (ISO 14001) and Occupational Health and Safety Management (ISO 45001). In addition, MESEA has developed innovative methods and equipment such as the Broom line inspection vehicle, the TIME application used to monitor technical data on the line in real time, and, in collaboration with LISEA, the SEACloud platform, which harnesses artificial intelligence to predict changes in track geometry, with 97% accuracy. This technical expertise and the continuous search for new methods is shared in the MESEA Academy, a training centre certified by the EPSF (French national rail safety authority), which delivers 14,000 training hours every year to the staff responsible for operating and maintaining the line.

On the environmental front, LISEA manages the offsetting measures implemented over a total area of 3,800 hectares to achieve no net loss of biodiversity due to construction of the line. LISEA will monitor these offsets until the end of the concession contract. To this end, it set up the CompenSEA platform, which enables government agencies and nature protection organisations to view all environmental data, land cover details and maps of each site to check that the commitments made by the concession company have been implemented properly. In addition, MESEA is working to reduce the direct carbon footprint of its activity by converting its vehicle fleet and installing electric vehicle charging stations and photovoltaic panels (in partnership with the specialised VINCI Concessions subsidiary SunMind) at all its sites.

Furthermore, LISEA and MESEA have been supporting social initiatives since 2012, initially through the LISEA Carbone and LISEA Biodiversité foundations and the Sillon Solidaire endowment fund. Since 2021, a total of €10 million has also been donated to 400 local projects through the Fonds SEA pour la Transition des Territoires to drive transition in the region. The first calls for projects launched by the Fonds SEA pour la Transition des Territoires led to support for 25 initiatives in the areas of sustainable agriculture and construction in the six departments served by the high-speed line, €1 million of which was earmarked for sustainable construction in 2022.