To revitalise train stations and to act in favour of sustainable development: that's the mission of 'Multiservice Stops', present in stations since 2007.

How do we promote social development while improving local public services? One answer was given in 1995 with the creation of PIMMS centres (Points Information Médiation Multiservices), in marginalised neighbourhoods and isolated regions. At the outset of the project, six public service corporations, including the SNCF, EDF, La Poste, and GDF, joined forces on the ground to offer free information and mediation to vulnerable communities.

Reception and Listening
The aim of these mediation centres is to welcome and provide guidance to people who are often overwhelmed by ever more complex administrative measures. The concept has spread throughout France, in major cities and the countryside. Each PIMMS welcomes local residents and provides information and guidance. Some people get help writing or sending their CVs; others need advice about unpaid bills or help to book a travel ticket on the Internet...

In the heart of stations
PIMMS centres are jointly funded by the private (local companies) and public sector (both central government and local authorities), and the aim is to offer as many local services as possible.
But since February 2007, the SNCF has been putting forward the idea of opening these public service centres in specially refurbished premises in train stations. The first in-station PIMMS was launched in Libercourt, Pas-de-Calais, on 1 February, 2007.

As well as selling tickets and postal products, the centre offers the sort of help typically available to the public in these friendly structures: computers and Internet access; assistance in job searches; guidance; mediation and more. In January 2008, the second in-station PIMMS opened its doors in Ambazac, Limousin. This centre is based in a rural area, and illustrates the desire to bring transport centres to life. Between now and 2012, the SNCF is hoping to open twelve new in-station PIMMS; principally in Rhône-Alpes, Burgundy, the Loire region, and Champagne-Ardenne. The PIMMS centres are also accredited with the Point TER label, and offer numerous services to their users and TER customers: local multimodal transport information, free phone calls, meeting places, an umbrella lending service and so much more.