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 and “mark a significant step forward in their commitment to sustainable development,” the company said.
“In collaboration with Fret SNCF, the rail logistics firm ACPMC and the support of the Ports of Strasbourg, we will facilitate the distribution of our products in the Paris region and western France with delivery in just three days from our Strasbourg factory”.
Turn to rail against the tide
As well as reducing its carbon footprint, Soprema underlined that the choice of rail freight will enable the company to increase the availability of its products and respond in a sustainable way to changes in demand in the Greater Paris region. “This new line represents an investment of 150,000 euros and aims to move between 5,000 and 10,000 tonnes of goods a year by rail,” explained Soprema.
The company added that its ambition is to develop other rail links to connect its production plants and distribution sites, “and we hope to be joined by other industrial players to increase the use of rail freight on a regional and national scale”.
In a time when rail logistics companies and operators face substantial challenges in maintaining their market share and customers from turning to road transport, Soprema’s commitment to rail highlights the industry’s potential. Apart from that, however, it also indicates that large companies are willing to use rail to meet the green goals set by the EU, even if they need to carry out private investments for this purpose.
Consequently, this example, especially since it occurs in France, where rail freight is going through a rough patch, signals that rail is there to undertake the mission of transporting products sustainably when needed. The only question is whether it will also find the support required to keep doing that or continue struggling against the tide of a multitude of challenges.
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