PARIS (Reuters) – France’s state-owned SNCF railways company estimates it will lose at least 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion) in revenue as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, Les Echos daily newspaper reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources.
Strikes over government pension reforms that started in early December in France has already cost the company 1 billion euros in lost revenue.
The newspaper said the company lost 700 million euros in March, 1.4 billion euros in April and expects losses to reach 3 billion euros before a nationwide lockdown begins to ease from May 11.
The group has been running only 7% of its high-speed trains and 20% of regional services since mid-March and will be allowed to resume only about 30% of its network from May 11 as France seeks to manage the post-lockdown period.
(Reporting by John Irish; Editing by David Goodman)
