FRANCE: SNCF’s freight and logistics division Rail Logistics Europe has announced a series of leadership changes in preparation for the breakup of Fret SNCF.
Following an investigation by the European Commission into potentially illegal state aid for the ailing rail freight operator, the Ministry of Transport announced that it would break up Fret SNCF and transfer some business to competing operators. From January 1 2025 the state-owned operator is to be split into separate transport and maintenance arms, provisionally branded as New Fret and New Maintenance.
Within the SNCF group, Rail Logistics Europe brings together operators Fret SNCF and Captrain, intermodal specialist Naviland Cargo, rolling motorway company VIIA and supply chain planner Forwardis.
RLE President Frédéric Delorme has selected the current CEO of Naviland Cargo and VIIA Charles Puech D’Alissa to become the head of New Fret; as an interim step he will take over as Director General of Fret SNCF from February 1, replacing Jérôme Leborgne who will take up the position of RLE Secretary General.
RLE’s Director of Performance, Transformation & Digital Tristan Rouzès is to become the head of New Maintenance; he will take up the role on a shadow basis from February 1, responsible for setting up the company. Both Puech D’Alissa and Rouzès will join the RLE Executive Committee, along with Nicolas Gindt, who is currently the division’s Director of Strategy & Innovation and President of Forwardis Holding.
Gindt is to become President of Captrain from February 1, exchanging roles with Nicholas Giraud who will take over the strategy portfolio. A new head of Naviland Cargo and VIIA is to be announced shortly.
- As part of the government’s breakup process, 14 traffic flows previously handled by Fret SNCF were transferred to DB Cargo France, Europorte and Regiorail with effect from January 1. The new operators are deploying their own staff and rolling stock, and have not taken over assets from the state-owned business.
