RAIL TRANSPORT IN FRANCE: WHEN RAIL OVERTAKES ROAD

Chicago, January 9, 2009 (word count: 549)
New legislation proposed by the French government is making rail transportation a competitive alternative to road transportation of goods, circumventing both road congestion and high fuel costs.   Responding to France’s 2007 Grenelle Environmental Forum, the legislation will increase the percentage of freight not transported by road from 14% to 25% by 2012, and reduce carbon emissions by 20% by 2020.

In addition to the deregulation of passenger transportation, European Union authorities have voted for the progressive liberalization of freight transportation, starting with international transportation between member states.

While freight rail connections and infrastructure are managed by the French Rail Network (Réseau de France – RFF), independent operators have been operating in France since 2003. Railway freight transportation has been deregulated since March 31, 2006, and a regulatory railway commission (Commission de Régularisation des Activités Ferroviaires – CRAF) is currently being established to ensure open access for all railway operators.

Private operators have also emerged alongside the traditional national operators in the specialized transport of chemical products, foodstuffs (grains) and bulk loads (cement, gravel and iron). Many new operators are subsidiaries of traditional operators, such as DB Schenker (Germany), Euro Cargo Rail (subsidiary of the British EWSI group), BLS Cargo (Switzerland), CFF Cargo (subsidiary of Swiss railways), CFL Cargo (Luxembourg railways and ArcelorMittal), VFLI (subsidiary of SNCF of France), Veolia Cargo (subsidiary of Veolia Transport), Rail 4 Chem (BASF of Germany), and Europorte 2 (subsidiary of Eurotunnel). These operators are also developing their activities in the part-loads market, which provides an alternative to goods transportation by HGV trucks.

Combined rail/road – or multimodal – transportation is particularly developed in France in the container sector. The transfer of HGV trucks onto rail networks is expanding with the development of wide-load (B+) capacity on major lines and the introduction of specialized rolling stock using traditional technology (German and Swiss rolling roads) or new technology, such as the Modalohr (Lorry Rail) trailer wagon. Classic combined transportation is provided in France by Naviland (formerly CNC) and Novatrans.

These technological developments are supported by major infrastructure works, such as the opening of the Perpignan-Luxembourg rail link and the Swiss AlpTransit project, which will provide better north-south rail links though the Lötschberg and Gotthard transalpine railway tunnels. There will also be additional improved connections across the Alps from north to west and south to east, with wide-load adjacent tunnels between Lyon and Modane. In addition, the planned Lyon-Turin railway tunnel will provide a key link in the European railway transportation network, connecting the regions lying between Barcelona and Budapest.

The French government is aiming to attract flows of freight traffic to new specialized links that connect ports with the surrounding areas by opening up the transportation hubs in ports to the general rail network, and by modernizing the radiating tracks and branch lines. These will be operated by companies that are authorized to run on plain track (including Rail 4 Chem, Veolia and VFLI). The line that connects with the docks at Le Havre is currently being modernized, for example, which will enable users to go by-pass Rouen and the narrow-load Seine corridor, as well as the bottlenecks at the Paris shunting yards.

Invest in France Agency (IFA) promotes and facilitates international investment in France. The IFA network operates worldwide. IFA works in partnership with regional development agencies to offer international investors business opportunities and customized services all over France. For more information, please visit www.investinfrance.org.

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