French shippers using rail freight enjoyed a better quality of service last year, particularly in the combined road-rail transport segment, according to the latest annual survey by the Association des Utilisateurs de Transport de Fret (AUTF).
Overall, the quality of service was judged to have improved significantly from the previous year. In the ‘combi’ segment, 63% of respondents considered the quality of service to be good or very good compared to 32% in 2023. 48% of respondents said that conventional rail freight transport offered a good or very good quality of service compared to 36% previously.
71% of respondents felt that the quality of service had improved last year compared to only 14% in 2023. There was also a decrease in the number of respondents who felt that the quality of service had deteriorated (29%) compared to 51% in 2023.
However, the AUTF underlined that the results should be seen in the context of the numerous strikes in 2023, which had exerted a significant, disruptive impact on rail transport operations.
While the quality of service has improved, the survey also revealed a global satisfaction rating of 2.90/6, indicating that rail freight transport seems to only partially respond to shippers’ expectations regarding deadlines, contingencies, responsiveness, cost-competitiveness, regularity of service, capacity for innovation, traceability, customer relations, and dispute handling.
‘Clear and intelligible’
On a more upbeat note and confirming the positive trend recorded in recent years, the survey also revealed that 71% of the shippers in the sample considered the organisation of rail freight to be “clear and intelligible,” compared to 59% the previous year. Nevertheless, just under one-quarter of the sample expressed the contrary view.
In the sample’s view, the two criteria that have improved the most in terms of rail freight transport services are the clarity of the offering (55% of respondents) and respect for the environment (41%), followed by the flexibility of the offering (38%).
Mixed views on service innovation
The sample was divided on the issue of service innovation. 51% considered it had been proposed, including 9% who were very happy and 21% who were pleased with the provision offered. However, 49% of respondents considered service innovation insufficient or non-existent.
The sample’s strongest expectations regarding service innovation were the provision of data and information. However, data sharing was not considered a priority, as 98% of respondents did not pool their freight with other shippers.
Better and direct communication
Another significant finding from the survey is that rail companies played a far greater role in organising the transport flows of shippers last year than they did the previous year. 77% of the respondents said they had been in direct contact with rail companies, 23 percentage points higher than the previous year. The increase is probably due to the fact that more large shippers were part of the 2024 sample.
For combined transport, 51% of the respondents in the sample were in contact with road hauliers, compared to 37% in 2023. Rail companies were also strongly represented (46%), compared to only 24% previously.