
The opening up of passenger rail transport in France to competition is disrupting the historical balance of the sector. At the heart of this transformation, rolling stock is a major strategic issue for both conventional and freely organised services. New entrants face difficulties in accessing rolling stock: difficulty in finding financing, lack of standardisation making it complex to purchase trains outside France, impossibility of purchasing or transferring second-hand trains due to the presence of asbestos, and room for improvement in regulation, particularly with regard to maintenance workshops and spare parts.