“French combined rail-road freight transport is working and working sustainably,” according to the head of France’s rail infrastructure manager, SNCF Réseau, with the current growth rate significantly higher than that for GDP. Speaking at a conference last week, organised by French trade body, the GNTC, Matthieu Chabanel said that what he found particularly encouraging was the rise in new traffic routes, with over 15 new ones between 2025 and the first half of 2026.
He pointed to double-digit growth in combi traffic on domestic routes in 2025, compared to 2022, considered to be
a reference year.
“Despite everything, we have a French network which is currently enabling growth in domestic traffic. Maybe it doesn’t yet live up to the ambitions of the members of the GNTC or yet offer the level of service quality expected. But when we see figures showing over 19% growth in domestic traffic, it is clear that the network is delivering. And for this network to continue to deliver, we need to modernise it, upgrade it and invest it and this what we’re doing right now.”
New performance contract
Chabanel noted that investment in France’s rail network is set to rise from €3.4 billion annually to €4.5 billion from 2028 onwards within the framework of a new performance contract with the State to be signed later this year. “€4.5 billion is not the figure we’d dream of or some wildly ambitious target. €4.5 billion is the level needed to stop the network from ageing further,” Chabanel underlined.
It was, nevertheless, a crucial increase because without it, there would not be the means to support the growth in freight transport, particularly in the ‘combined’ segment. The performance contract has been expanded to include a range of service quality indicators that will enable a transparent annual assessment of whether SNCF Réseau is meeting its customers’ expectations, he added.
“I am thinking, for example, of issues such as the match between train paths requested and those actually allocated – an area where we know we have made progress but where we also know there is still room for improvement in the years to come.”
Ulysse Fret
Turning to investment dedicated specifically to rail freight, Chabanel highlighted Ulysse Fret, a collaborative programme between the industry and government which makes provision for spending of up to €4 billion by 2032.
“Today, €1 billion has already been committed and It’s going to be a struggle in the years ahead to ensure that the remaining funds actually materialise. These funds are not part of the performance contract; they are funds that we will have to secure, for which we will need to convince the government of their relevance at a time when public finances are under pressure, requiring us to seek out various sources of funding and also to strive to attract private investment.”