French start-up Velvet has secured its railway undertaking licence, clearing a major regulatory hurdle on its path to launching high-speed passenger services in western France in 2028.
The licence, granted by France’s Directorate-General for Infrastructure, Transport and Mobility (DGITM), allows Velvet to move into the next phase of preparations, including applying for train paths, securing access to railway infrastructure and finalising its operating procedures.
“The railway undertaking licence is an important step: it allows us to go further in preparing our trains, our teams and our procedures,” said Velvet co-founder and president Rachel Picard. “From the outset, we have made safety a reflex: every design decision, every operational choice is tested against this standard.”
Velvet plans to challenge incumbent operator SNCF on high-speed routes from Paris to major cities in western and south-western France. Its planned network includes Bordeaux, Nantes, Angers, and Rennes, with Le Mans and other destinations also envisaged. The company is targeting both leisure and business travellers and aims to offer fares below those of SNCF.
The operating licence is only the first of several regulatory and operational milestones Velvet must clear before launching. The company is developing its Safety Management System and operating procedures, while its trains will have to undergo testing and certification before Velvet can obtain the Single Safety Certificate required to operate commercially.
The operator has ordered 12 Avelia Horizon high-speed trainsets from Alstom. Based on the same platform as SNCF’s next-generation TGV M, the trains are being developed specifically for Velvet. The first train, unveiled in the company’s purple and green livery at Alstom’s La Rochelle site in April, is currently undergoing static testing. Its interior design has yet to be unveiled.
Velvet will also need to recruit and train drivers, ticket inspectors, train managers and station and onboard staff, while establishing ticket distribution and marketing operations ahead of the launch.
Maintenance of the fleet has been entrusted to Alstom for 15 years. The manufacturer is building a maintenance centre at Marcheprime, near Bordeaux, to support Velvet’s operations.
Founded in 2022 under the name Proxima by former SNCF Voyages director Rachel Picard and Alpha Trains founder Tim Jackson, Velvet is backed by infrastructure investor Antin Infrastructure Partners. Around €1 billion has been secured for the first phase of the project, including approximately €850 million for the acquisition of the trains.
Velvet expects its services to carry around 10 million passengers in a full year, or to provide around 10 million seats annually, on the western corridors it intends to serve.
The company’s progress comes as France’s domestic passenger rail market becomes increasingly open to private competition. Kevin Speed has postponed its planned launch to 2030 amid funding and industrial delays, while Le Train is still awaiting French certification for the Talgo Avril trains it intends to operate, despite having secured its own railway undertaking licence in 2022.
If Velvet succeeds in launching in 2028 as planned, it would become the first privately funded French operator to compete directly with SNCF on domestic high-speed passenger services.
