FRANCE: The liberalisation of the rail market offers new opportunities for SNCF Voyageurs’ rolling stock maintenance and engineering subsidiary Masteris, according to its CEO Remi Peltier, who told Railway Gazette International that ’we want to be present for these opportunities’.
SNCF established Masteris in 2009 to commercialise its expertise in the rolling stock sector. The business has grown its revenues from €10m in its first year to more than €350m in 2023, and it now has 160 staff. Its customers include other companies within the SNCF group, as well as external clients such as Luxembourg’s CFL and leasing company Akiem.
Locomotives are a ‘highly important market for us’, and there are business opportunities as new entrants arrive in the French market, Peltier said at InnoTrans.
Passenger trainsets are also ‘at the heart’ of its activities, and he sees many opportunities on the horizon, notably in the high speed train sector in Europe and worldwide; Masteris already supports SNCF’s international activities through Eurostar and in Morocco.
Masteris is participating in the OPTER mid-life refurbishment programme for AGC and TER 2N NG regional multiple-units, and Peltier see similar opportunities for other fleets.
The tendering of contracts for the operation of French regional passenger services will also create a new market for maintenance where Peltier says Masteris can leverage its extensive experience.
