{"id":163750,"date":"2025-01-03T21:19:22","date_gmt":"2025-01-03T11:19:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=58837"},"modified":"2025-01-03T21:19:22","modified_gmt":"2025-01-03T11:19:22","slug":"another-french-quarry-group-moves-into-rail-freight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=163750","title":{"rendered":"Another French quarry group moves into rail freight"},"content":{"rendered":"

French quarry group Pigeon is choosing rail freight to reduce the environmental impact of its transport activities and optimise deliveries. Via subsidiary, Pigeon Granulats Loire Anjou (PGLA), it has invested 1.5 million euros in a rail loading facility in Laval, in western France. It will enable the hard rock used in road construction to be transported by rail to northern France and the Greater Paris region.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>The aim is to ship between 150,000 and 200,000 tonnes of aggregates by rail each year. Traction is provided by Millet Rail, based in Saint-Pierre-des-Corps, near Tours, and its trains can transport loads of 1,500 tonnes, using 22 wagons. \u201cIt would take 50 trucks, travelling 300 kilometres to transport the same quantity,\u201d Thierry Wojnowski, PGLA’s Operations Director, told French media.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith rail freight, on the total flow, we estimate that CO2 emissions can be reduced by 2,000 tonnes. This development is in line with the Pigeon Group’s CSR approach, which aims to reduce its GHG emissions by 35 per cent by 2030,\u201d he added. PGLA is also planning to replace the four truck-trailers that supply the rail loading facility with electric HGVs.<\/p>\n

Pigeon Group<\/h2>\n

Pigeon, which has annual sales of 30 million euros and 70 employees, currently only delivers aggregates to the Lhotellier public works group in the Paris region. With the new rail freight service it is now looking to expand its customer base, notably in western and northern France. The family-owned group, generates annual sales of 500 million euros, employs 2,000 staff and operates 12 quarries.<\/p>\n

French quarry groups shifting to rail<\/h2>\n

One of its peers, Carri\u00e8res de l\u2019Ouest, could be described as paving the way of French quarry groups into rail freight. In collaboration with France\u2019s rail network manager SNCF R\u00e9seau and port authority, Haropa Port, it has developed a round-trip freight system focusing on the transport by train of aggregates from its quarries in western France to construction sites in the Greater Paris region.<\/p>\n