French high-speed rail start-up Velvet has been granted an operating licence to run services in western France as it looks to challenge incumbent train company SNCF.
Velvet, which was formerly known as Proxima before rebranding in 2025, plans to start routes from Bordeaux, Rennes, Nantes and Angers in western France to Paris from 2028.
The independent company said on Tuesday (1 September) that it had gained initial approval to operate on high-speed lines from France’s Transport Ministry. Velvet will now need to secure safety certification from the rail regulator in the next stage of the process.
Velvet's president and co-founder Rachel Picard said in a statement: “This license is an important step. It allows us to advance the preparation of our trains, our teams and our processes.”
The company plans to use investment of €1 billion from Antin Infrastructure Partners to buy 12 Avelia Horizon trains from manufacturer Alstom. Velvet wants to offer around 10 million seats per year between Paris and cities on France’s Atlantic coasts.
Velvet’s move to challenge SNCF on some routes in France comes as the EU tries to increase competition on high-speed routes across Europe. Competition is also hotting up on the cross-Channel routes between the UK and continental Europe with Virgin Trains and Trenitalia France looking to challenge Eurostar.