France cuts hundreds of millions from transport and infrastructure plan

The French government announced the cancellation of 10 billion euros that were supposed to be invested throughout the country in 2024. The infrastructure and transport sectors will see their budget decrease by over 341 million euros. This sum, according to French media outlet Maire Info, equals 7 per cent of the total budget previously allocated […]

French ​​30km rail freight line to reopen after major renovation work

A 30 kilometres stretch of a railway line between Château-Gontier-sur-Mayenne and Sablé-sur-Sarthe, located in the Mayenne département in centre-west France, is being rebuilt in order to re-launch rail freight services, which will handle around 80,000 tonnes of bulk goods annually, with trains operating at speeds of up to 40 kilometres/hour. Work began in September last […]

Private investment reactivates French domestic rail freight service

Soprema, a French company specialising in waterproofing, roofing, soundproofing and thermal insulation, has invested 150,000 euros in re-activating a domestic rail freight service between Strasbourg and Rouen. Inaugurated last month and linking eastern and western France, the service will take 200-400 trucks off the road, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 50 per cent […]

EU may break up DB Cargo due to losses

The European Union may break up DB Cargo due to the rail operator’s large losses, which have reached nearly 500 million euros. Company sources reported to Reuters that the EU may consider the figures and subsequent government support to be distorting the market. The Deutsche Bahn subsidiary incurred losses that were twice as high as […]

DB Cargo main beneficiary of Fret SNCF ‘discontinuity’

Labour unions at Fret SNCF have highlighted that the ‘discontinuity’ of the French state railways’ biggest rail freight subsidiary has played directly into the hands of its biggest rival – DB Cargo France. Under the terms of an agreement between France and the European Commission, in response to suspected illegal state aid to Fret SNCF, […]