At a recent event organised by trade publication Ville, Rail & Transports (VRT), Raphaël Doutrebente (chairman and CEO of Europorte) and Alexandre Gallo (who heads DB Cargo France) shared a platform to debate some of the main issues currently facing the industry. Network quality is high on the priority list of the two French rail freight ‘heavyweights’.
Earlier this month, the French government set national rail infrastructure manager SNCF Réseau “ambitious” performance targets for the development of passenger and freight transport until 2033. It comprises an “unprecedented” investment programme for the regeneration and modernisation of the network.
“The state of the network really is the number 1 issue, hampering freight performance”, Gallo underlined. “We need SNCF Réseau to make a significant leap forward in the management of train services.”
This was echoed by Europorte’s Doutrebente. “Launching a train service requires at least a year’s preparation so we need to have the visibility that the network can deliver. We must work in partnership with SNCF Réseau to gain customers’ trust and encourage them to invest and switch to rail.”
He pointed to the Ulysse (rail freight) development programme, which is intended to provide four billion euros in investment, part of which has already been approved thanks to co-funding between central government and regional public authorities. “But some regions are more involved than others.”
However, the modernisation of the rail network cannot rely solely on public funding, Doutrebente pointing out that bringing capillary or secondary lines up to scratch requires considerable investment and that it is therefore only natural for the private sector to make a long-term commitment to rail transport.
“We cannot expect the state to do everything. Industrial groups must understand that this has to be a give-and-take situation. If everyone plays their part, this will open up new opportunities for the development of rail freight.”
Changing mindset of shippers
Participants in VRT’s event heard how manufacturers who need to decarbonise because their operations generate high levels of greenhouse gas emissions are the ones most receptive to the environmental benefits of rail freight.
“This is the case with automakers and cement producers who are actively seeking modal shift solutions. But these are also companies that are large enough to consider this type of logistics organisation”, Gallo explained.
The two executives expressed disappointment that logistics services providers (LSP) rarely take the initiative in offering the rail freight option to their customers.
“Often, customers have to do all the running so to speak before an alternative is considered as was the case with (French retailer) Monoprix and (LSP) XPO regarding river transport,” Gallo noted.
“We want to change the way shippers and freight forwarders view rail freight, Doutrebente added. “We want them to stop seeing it as a solution that is inherently complicated. It’s simply a mode of transport that requires experience, foresight and a long-term vision”, Doutrebente added.
Retailing
Gallo pointed to the large-scale retail sector as possessing the greatest potential for modal shift but very few companies are actually making use of it.
He attributed this to many of them “remaining stuck in outdated ways of thinking regarding warehouse opening hours or logistics timetabling, which are sometimes incompatible with the constraints of rail transport.”