Rail freight capacity in France is projected to reach an average yearly growth of 11 per cent for the 2020-2025 period, the country’s infrastructure manager SNCF Réseau stated. What’s more, the freight train slot paths “are now of better quality and are perfectly adapted to the needs of capacity applicants”, SNCF Réseau claimed
French rail freight association, 4F – Fret Ferroviaire Français du Futur posted the growth trend on Linkedin. Its President, Raphael Doutrebente, who also heads Getlink’s rail freight subsidiary, Europorte, called it “a commendable achievement which is the fruit of constructive work between the 4F Alliance and SNCF Réseau”.
Last month, the new president of France’s multi-modal transport association, the Groupement National des Transports Combinés (GNTC), Rémy Crochet, noted that good quality freight train paths were the priority if road hauliers were to be attracted to rail. He said this was fundamental to initiating a massive modal shift in favour of rail and waterways.
‘It’s too early for conclusions’
However, Alexandre Gallo, head of DB Cargo France, tempered the upbeat mood that has followed SNCF Réseau’s statement on the growth in freight train slot paths. “I think it’s a little premature to draw conclusions. As part of the capacity allocation process, freight train paths will continue to be the subject of discussions until September. I can’t really comment on a rate (of growth) which, for the moment, remains very abstract”.
While the quality of freight train paths is tending to improve and, in absolute terms, there are more train paths available, he questioned whether they really correspond to customers’ requests and needs. Gallo offered a theoretical example of a request for a train path between Paris and Marseille with departure from the French capital at 7.30 pm and arrival at 6 pm the next morning.
In response, SNCF Réseau provides a train path with a departure at 5 pm from Paris and an arrival in Marseille at 9 am the next day. “In this case, SNCF Réseau will consider that it has met the request even though the train’s timetable is not acceptable to customers. The discussions that will be taking place through September will be aimed at trying to reduce such ‘discrepancies’”.
‘Freight and passenger traffic need reconciliation’
Speaking before a Senate committee earlier this summer on the future of rail freight in France, the head of SNCF Réseau, Matthieu Chabanel, said that when it came to train paths, the equation was complex. He underlined that freight transport on the network has to be reconciled with the development of passenger traffic, particularly around the main rail hubs – where the French public expects an expansion of regional express trains – but also with the necessary maintenance, renewal and development work on the network.
“Over the last ten years or so, the situation has improved considerably. In 2013, our rate of positive responses to requests for train paths was 70 per cent; in 2023, it will be 88.8 per cent. On a more subjective level, the score given by our customers to SNCF Réseau for its quality of service has risen from 5 out of 10 to 7.2 out of 10”. A programme funded to the tune of 50 million euros by the European Union has enabled SNCF Réseau to modernise the digital tools used to allocate train paths, he noted.