Question 15294 — rail transport

Summary

Mr. Thomas Portes draws the attention of the Minister of Transport to the future of the sanitation service in railway stations, to compliance with the commitments made by the Government in terms of free travel for travelers, as well as to the social guarantees required of the operators responsible for this service. The MP has been contacted on several occasions by users who have noted, in recent months, the impossibility of accessing free toilets in several large stations, with travelers being sent to paid toilets, including when they have a transport ticket or after consumption in catering establishments. In a response published in the Official Journal on July 4, 2023 to written question no. 5211, the ministry indicated that SNCF Gares et Connexions offered free access to nearly 80% of station toilet services. He also specified that a new economic model must be put in place in the thirty largest stations in order to allow, at the end of the current contract, free access to toilets for travelers with a transport ticket, while maintaining a high level of cleanliness, security and human presence. To date, the public information available does not make it possible to establish whether this commitment will be respected by 2026, nor to check whether the share of free toilets still corresponds to the advanced levels in 2023. Furthermore, a concession notice entitled “National station toilet concession” was published on April 10, 2026 by SNCF Gares et Connexions. It covers a perimeter of 31 stations and 38 locations and provides for competition between an operator responsible for the development, operation and management of toilets. This procedure takes place as the expiry of the current contract approaches, opening a phase of redefinition of the management model. However, this notice does not explicitly mention the guarantee of free access for travelers with a transport ticket, although announced in 2023. Furthermore, several press surveys and union reports report contested practices concerning the operator in charge of operating sanitary facilities. in certain large stations, particularly in terms of respect for labor law, employment conditions and work organization. These concerns relate in particular to working hours, salary increases, conditions of exposure to certain products and the use of surveillance devices. It was also indicated that these establishments were subject to regular inspections by the labor inspectorate. In this context, the MP questions the Minister on the state of execution of the commitment made in 2023 aimed at guaranteeing free access to sanitary facilities for travelers with a transport ticket in the largest stations, but also on the updated data available to the ministry concerning the actual share of sanitary facilities currently accessible free of charge and on the possibility of providing him with the list of stations in to which access remains chargeable. The MP also questions him on the precise timetable for the concession launched in April 2026, on the transitional arrangements planned between now and the entry into force of the future contract, as well as on the contractual commitments which will be imposed on the future operator in terms of access to sanitary facilities, in particular with regard to their free access for travelers. He also asks her to answer him about the social guarantees and the requirements in terms of compliance with labor law which will be imposed on candidate operators, as well as the control and sanction mechanisms provided in order to prevent the renewal of practices contrary to workers' rights. Finally, he alerts him to the urgent need to ensure free access to hygiene for travelers in stations operated by the public company SNCF, which is an essential right to health and dignity.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

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