In 2010, the idea of using small, efficient and locally-based organisations as feeder services to long-distance freight routes led to the founding of the French ‘Objectif OFP’ association. Despite persistent modal shift challenges, there are tangible results. That became clear during OFP’s latest annual meeting.
The French OFPs (Opérateurs Ferroviaires de Proximité) are short-distance railways. They each have several hundred employees, a double-digit number of locomotives and up to several thousand freight wagons. Bringing these companies together, the association Objectif OFP now has around two dozen members. Ten of them are short-haul rail operators at its core.
Objectif OFP aims to promote the creation of such short-distance rail operators. The USA serves as a model. Around 600 ‘Class III Short Lines’ connect some 10,000 customers in rural areas to the mainline freight railways. The US short-distance railways collect and distribute around a quarter of all wagons nationwide.
Inspired by the American success, Objectif OFP has set itself the aim of supporting the founding, development and networking of short-distance railways by raising awareness among public authorities and logistics providers.
Some regions are catching on
That is not always an easy task. Gaining market share from the road sector is difficult when industrial production is down. Port activities — with the exception of container traffic — have also been on a downward trend for years. Moreover, branch lines are often in a poor state of repair. Unfortunately, the infrastructure manager shows little enthusiasm for the cause.
Still, Objectif OFP hopes to reverse the decline in the rail freight industry by persuading national and regional authorities to invest in the maintenance and improvement of the often very old rail infrastructure. The association also seeks to preserve and modernise industrial sidings. Almost a quarter of French rail freight is transported via branch lines to or from businesses that are located outside the major centres.
Objectif OFP has achieved some successes in its promotion of short-distance rail freight operations. For instance, the Centre-Val de Loire region is calling for tenders for the construction, refurbishment and extension of sidings valued at ten million euros. Businesses in the Grand Est region are eligible for grants to set up, reactivate or modernise their branch terminal facilities.
More than lobbying
Besides lobbying efforts, Objectif OFP and its members support the rail industry through various services. The association has an IT tool for consolidating traffic flows and forming block trains. A long-distance rail operator then take them over. In addition to single wagonload trains, block trains and combined transport trains are also operated over longer distances. In some areas, an OFP operator also maintains and operates the local railway infrastructure.
An AI-supported tool called ‘IAkLeFer’ has also been developed. It provides access to maps and databases on freight yards, connecting tracks, sidings and intermodal terminals. It consolidates information on freight transportation, as well as on services and transport schedules for combined transport.
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) made it possible to rapidly consolidate the databases of the national Centre for Studies and Expertise on Risks, the Environment, Mobility and Spatial Planning (Cerema) and those of infrastructure manager SNCF Réseau. This means that users can access information on possibilities for rail loading and carrying possibilities much more easily than was the case under the state railways’ former monopoly. Objectif OFP is promoting this new tool to help industries and shippers to switch to rail transport.
Money from the road
One could see the modal shift difficulties, industrial downturn and the low level of enthusiasm at the infrastructure manager as reasons for concern. At the same time, some OFPs fear that they will be burdened with the high costs and problems associated with the Digital Automatic Coupler (DAC). This technology is only really useful at the ends of the train in the case of block trains and combined transport.
By contrast, the structural change in the logistics sector is driving strong growth in combined transport. It has more than doubled in France since 2010 and saw ten new routes established last year. Furthermore, a Framework Act on Transport Development pushed by Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot is currently under discussion in the National Assembly. It aims to enable the financing of investments in all modes of transport, including rail, inland waterways and freight, using all the revenue from future motorway concessions. This is where hopes for the future lie.