FRANCE: Two new companies are to take over the operations and maintenance activities of the national railway’s freight business Fret SNCF on January 1 2025.
Transport Minister François Durovray has confirmed plans to break up Fret SNCF which were announced by his predecessor Clément Beaune in May 2023. This was the result of a European Commission investigation into €5·3bn of illegal state aid granted in 2007-19, which the incumbent operator could not realistically repay.
The restructuring plan will see 23 freight flows transferred to other operators, with one going to Medway and the rest DB Cargo France and Europorte.
Fret SNCF’s remaining activities will be taken over by new companies Hexafret and Technis. These will be subsidiaries of SNCF’s Rail Logistics Europe business which includes Captrain, rolling motorway company VIIA, intermodal business Naviland Cargo and supply chain planner Forwardis.
Hexafret
Freight train operator Hexafret will have 4 000 employees and run 1 100 long-distance trains per week serving 1 300 industrial and logistics sites in France and beyond.
It will offer all types of train frequencies and formats, including wagonload and block train services. It will be tasked with increasing market share and encouraging modal shift from road in sectors including consumer goods, by simplifying access to rail by offering agile and robust options and meeting commercial commitments.
‘Quality of service is the number one priority for Hexafret’s development’, said its CEO Charles Puech d’Alissac, who is currently the head of Fret SNCF.
Technis
Fret SNCF’s locomotive maintenance activities will transfer to Technis, which will take over 12 depots and 500 employees.
Hexafret will be its first customer, but it will work with all Rail Logistics Europe subsidiaries to contribute to the growth of rail freight, said its CEO Tristan Rouzès.
The two new businesses are expected to achieve combined revenues of €700m in 2025, contributing to Rail Logistics Europe’s revenue target of €1·9bn for the next financial year.
Rail Logistics Europe CEO Frédéric Delorme said its ambition is to become the first profitable European player in rail freight and logistics, and it would open its capital to a minority stakeholder in 2025.
- Subscribers can read an in-depth article on the issues at Fret SNCF from the July 2024 issue of Railway Gazette International.
