Socio-economic commitment

AGIFI members are committed to ensuring their infrastructure makes a positive socio-economic contribution. Their projects have improved national and regional transport options to benefit passengers and local communities.

As key players and stakeholders in local communities, they contribute to discussions and make specific proposals to offer better and more consistent mobility services by improving infrastructure use.

Better distribution of freight and passenger traffic

The Nîmes and Montpellier railway bypass has diverted freight traffic from the existing line and the city centres, freeing up capacity for regional transport.

Better daily transport

One year after the SEA HSL opened, ridership on regional transport in Aquitaine increased by 12%.
Alongside the BPL HSL, ERE (Eiffage Rail Express) developed the Virgule de Sablé project to connect the HSL and the Sablé-sur Sarthe junction and provide direct rail links (to date, 8 return trips a day) between Nantes, Angers, Sablé-sur-Sarthe, Laval, and Rennes.

Improved travel and trade

Traffic figures for the SEA HSL show that the time saved combined with the existing appeal of the Bordeaux area directly increased ridership for tourism and leisure, and especially for business. SNCF Mobilités determined that the number of business travellers doubled.

New lines built by AGIFI members have reduced journey times and significantly increased ridership on those routes.

According to SNCF, 9 months after the high-speed lines opened, the number of passengers increased by 70% on the Paris-Bordeaux line, 60% on the Paris-Toulouse line, and 27% on the Paris-Rennes line.

Social commitment

Throughout the project life cycle, but particularly during construction, AGIFI members work closely with public authorities to hire as many local workers as possible.

AGIFI members have also supported many local projects in the areas of inclusion, mobility, and access to credit and employment.

Recruitment

During the construction phase, the builders of the SEA, BPL, and CNM lines recruited one-fourth of their employees locally. Several million hours were worked through occupational integration programmes and hundreds of thousands of training hours were provided. 

 

Occupational integration

Between 10% and 15% of hours worked on the SEA, BPL, and CNM projects were part of occupational integration programmes.

 

Development of micro-credit tools 

Oc’Via formed a five-year partnership with France Active and contributed €600,000 to develop micro-credit tools for young entrepreneurs from underprivileged backgrounds.

Creation of endowment funds

In 2012, LISEA and MESEA created an endowment fund to combat exclusion and improve the integration of people in great difficulty. Since then, the fund has funnelled 2 million euros into 186 projects.

Hervé Le Caignec graduated from École Spéciale des Travaux Publics (TP86) and started his career building and maintaining road infrastructure.

He then oversaw the development and operation of major infrastructure through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) both in France and abroad. He spent 14 years at the VINCI Group, 4 years at SNCF, and 10 years at the Caisse des Dépôts Group. In March 2017, he was named Chairman of LISEA, the concession holder for the Tours-Bordeaux high-speed line.

A graduate of École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, Gilles managed the Île-de-France regional branch for Egis Aménagement (transport and mobility engineering, urban development, etc.). He then served as Managing Director of the European Economic Interest Grouping that manages and operates the Mont Blanc Tunnel for ATMB and the Italian Mont Blanc Tunnel Company (SITMB).

He became the new Managing Director of Oc’Via on 1 May 2019.