{"id":164849,"date":"2025-01-07T20:21:33","date_gmt":"2025-01-07T10:21:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=58896"},"modified":"2025-01-07T20:21:33","modified_gmt":"2025-01-07T10:21:33","slug":"sncf-reseau-adapts-freight-train-schedules-to-medicine-delivery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=164849","title":{"rendered":"\u200b\u200bSNCF R\u00e9seau adapts freight train schedules to medicine delivery"},"content":{"rendered":"

An agreement has been signed between Rouen University Hospital (RUH) and the Normandy branch of France\u2019s rail network manager, SNCF R\u00e9seau, to secure the delivery of medicines for the benefit of patients. The partnership focuses on the safe transfer of these products: in particular, SNCF R\u00e9seau will ensure that no trains run on this track during the crucial time slots for transferring the medicines.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>The hospital uses innovative therapies to treat certain cancers. A treatment based on Car-T cells \u2013 capable of recognising and destroying cells infected by the disease \u2013 is being developed. The treatment protocol is complex. The patients, young children and teenagers, must undergo chemotherapy for three days before the Car-T cells can be injected.<\/p>\n

Quick deliveries are vital<\/h2>\n

Once the medicine has been de-frosted in the university\u2019s biotherapy laboratory, where it is stored, it must be transported on foot by a pharmacist to the hospital for administration within 20 minutes in order to limit the risk of failure at the time of injection. The laboratory and the hospital are separated by a distance of a few hundred metres but the journey involves crossing a railway line used by freight trains.<\/p>\n

A level crossing makes it easy to cross the track but freight trains several hundreds of metres long are likely to compromise the integrity of the treatment, for which every minute counts, SNCF R\u00e9seau explained. As soon as a treatment needs to be administered (which only happens a few times a year), the RUH and SNCF R\u00e9seau meet to determine the date and time slot during which the transfer will take place, the latter guaranteeing that the track will be clear and that no trains will disrupt the pharmacist’s journey.<\/p>\n

Vincent Palix, SNCF R\u00e9seau’s Regional Director for Normandy, added: \u201cSNCF R\u00e9seau is proud to be contributing to this crucial initiative for patient health. We are committed to facilitating transfers by setting up a communication and coordination process with the RUH to ensure that these essential medicines reach their destination safely.\u201d<\/p>\n