Across the 3,000 French stations, SNCF Gares & Connexions manages 1,500 commercial businesses via SNCF Retail & Connexions, a total of 180,000m² of sales space in the centre of towns and connected to major multimodal transport networks.

The proportion of the budget coming from revenue from commercial businesses at stations keeps growing and is currently at 50%. These results help to finance the renovation and management of stations and offer more services to passengers without making them pay more. The development of services and commercial businesses can make a station more welcoming and pleasant to really make it a lively place. The redevelopment of Saint-Lazare station with a shopping centre containing over 80 shops has helped to finance over 65% of the total cost of renovating the station.

Expertise in commerce at stations (Travel Retail) is a field that requires specific skills. Consumer behaviour at a station is specific and differs from that observed in shopping centres. From managing 1,500 commercial businesses in France, from the smallest to the largest, we have acquired unique experience that helps us to create commerce concepts adapted to the needs of passengers at stations.

Israel - National rail network

In 2016 we developed a methodological guide for implementation of a commercial development strategy at Israeli stations. In 2017, as part of a study on Savidor station, we provided consultancy and expertise on introducing commercial business at stations.

South Korea - Gwangmyeong

The town of Gwangmyeong commissioned SNCF Hubs & Connexions to analyse the commercial potential of five Korean stations: Dorasan, Munsan, Paju, Geumchon and Daegok.

India - Bangalore and Pune

On 10th June 2019, a tripartite technical assistance agreement was signed between SNCF Hubs & Connexions, the French Development Agency and Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation. The 2-year project involved training of local staff and a study into the renovation, particularly commercial renovation, of five Indian stations: Bangalore, Pune, Secunderabad, Anand Vihar and Chandigarh. SNCF Hubs & Connexions first provided technical diagnosis of the stations’ status and operations, before preparing for the works and selecting partners for future renovation.