Fiscal measures are needed at national and European level to create fairer competition between road and rail freight. “I think the only way that the playing field between the two modes can be evened up is by a tax on road freight traffic which would contribute towards supporting and facilitating the development of rail freight which is, after all, a sustainable transport solution,” the chairman and CEO of Europorte, Raphaël Doutrebente, told Railfreight.com in an interview.
Taking France as an example, he said the subsidies granted to rail freight were small in comparison to the huge investments made by the public authorities to maintain roads at a high level of quality with trucking companies a major beneficiary. He highlighted the handicap rail freight was under as a consequence of the fierce competition within the road sector, where some companies have resorted to dumping on labour costs in employing drivers from Eastern Europe and even from much further afield – India, and Pakistan, even the Philippines – to drive their trucks.
“The result is a downward spiral in rates which has a significant impact on road haulage’s direct competitor – rail freight – especially on long-distance routes.” He claimed that the public authorities at national and European level were not doing enough to combat such practices. “We are also fighting against mega-trucks, because with higher volume loads they obviously represent a frontal attack on intermodal/combined transport.
‘It’s time for the road sector to pay more’
Doutrebente said it was time for road haulage to pay its dues just as rail freight operators pay for train paths and transport infrastructure. “While trucks pay tolls on motorways in France (nothing on toll-free major roads), the amount is extremely modest when you consider the damage they do to road surfaces they operate on.” Doutrebente explained that he often takes the high-speed passenger rail service from Paris to Lille and that at one point, the track skirts the A1 motorway (one of the busiest in France).
“From the train you get a clear, indeed an alarming picture, of just how many trucks ply major highways and are left reflecting on the impact on the environment of such a colossal amount of CO2 emitted.” France has made several attempts to introduce an eco-tax or environmental levy on trucks over the past 20-30 years but on each occasion has backed down in the face of stiff opposition from road hauliers.
Shortage of truck drivers might help
“For sure, it will take political will and courage to adopt a scheme of this kind. Germany has succeeded in doing so and the French eastern region of Alsace is poised to introduce a tax on trucks in 2026. If France is to meet its objective of doubling the modal share of rail freight to 18-19% over the next decade it’s got to go down this route.” He concluded by pointing to forecasts which estimate that by 2035 there will be a serious scarcity of truck drivers in Europe – a shortage of 60,000 drivers in France alone. “This may well lead to the public authorities making it compulsory for long-haul and certain specific road haulage routes, national and international, be shifted to rail.”