{"id":330353,"date":"2025-12-16T00:07:46","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T14:07:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=68080"},"modified":"2025-12-16T00:07:46","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T14:07:46","slug":"french-transport-minister-reassures-rail-freight-sector-on-states-financial-commitment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=330353","title":{"rendered":"French Transport minister reassures rail freight sector on state\u2019s financial commitment"},"content":{"rendered":"

France\u2019s Transport minister Philippe Tabarot has reassured rail freight players that despite the ongoing political crisis and the constraints on public spending, the state\u2019s financial commitment to the development of the sector remained intact.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>Annual subsidies dedicated to rail freight this year totalled between 200 million euros and 215 million euros – around half of this amount spent on supporting single wagonload (SWL) activity.<\/p>\n

The French state is also co-funding, with the EU, a four billion euros investment programme, Ulysse Fret, aimed at supporting the sector over the next decade and which spans eight \u2018macro-areas\u2019 from capillary lines upgrades to digitalisation.<\/p>\n

\u2018Vigorous defence\u2019<\/h2>\n

Speaking at the annual conference of lobby group, Objectif-OFP, Philippe Tabarot told attendees that in a context where French government ministry budgets were under pressure, Transport was an exception, its resources being reinforced in the proposed Finance Bill for 2026.<\/p>\n

He said the \u201cvigorous defence\u201d of these resources amounted to a \u201cvictory\u201d and one in which the rail freight sector itself had played a significant role.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have helped to demonstrate the economic importance of state aid (for rail freight). I needed you, and you were the first to step up to the plate. You used your contacts at the highest levels of government to support me in my efforts and I thank you all.”<\/p>\n

Underestimating the modal shift<\/h2>\n

\u201cWe must continue to defend this position in the ongoing debates on budget in the Senate because rail freight needs visibility and stability to ensure it can prosper in the long-term.\u201d<\/p>\n

He described rail freight as a key element in the transition to more sustainable transport systems and the decarbonisation of supply chains and logistics \u201cbecause every wagon that rolls, every container that is transferred from truck to train, means less CO2 emitted in our territories, fewer trucks on our roads and greater resilience in our economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Highlighting the doubling of rail\u2019s modal share of freight traffic in France, from 9% to 18% by 2030, Tabarot admitted that he perhaps did not realise the difficulty and scale of this \u201cambitious goal\u201d when it was set in 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe results are not yet living up to our expectations but we can\u2019t back down. On the contrary, now is the time to redouble our efforts. Every tonne transported by rail counts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Created the conditions for success\u2019<\/h2>\n

Returning to the state\u2019s financial commitment to the sector, he said rail freight would be a direct beneficiary of an additional one billion euros per year from 2028 for the modernisation of France\u2019s rail network making it more efficient for transporting goods.<\/p>\n

This would be funded, among other measures, through toll revenues from future motorway concessions – \u201ca sustainable and stable resource that allows for increased investment without raising taxes or increasing debt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tabarot also pointed out that thanks to state subsidies, the cost of operating freight trains on France\u2019s rail network was now among the most competitive in Europe at just over one euro per kilometre, compared to an average of two euros in Europe.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have created the conditions for success. Now we must take action. 2026 must be the year we shift into high gear,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n