SNCF launches Rail Route Connect for massive road-to-rail shift
Seven companies with logistics sites across France joined forces with Fret SNCF to form the first national network to promote a massive shift of rail: Rail Route Connect (2RC). The association’s main objective is to further implement combined transport and increase the modal share of rail in France. The first flows on the 2RC network are expected to start in April.
The initiative was officially launched on 25 January. All seven logistics companies can count on facilities already connected to the rail network. This new initiative will allow these companies to use the rail even if they do not have enough volume to fill a whole train. “These services will allow mixing the goods of different customers in the same wagon, and different delivery destinations”, an SNCF spokesperson told RailFreight.com.
As SNCF explained, these companies would only have to take care of pre- and post-routing services with their own resources. SNCF will take care of the long-distance transport by rail by guaranteeing a specific fleet of wagons for the 2RC network. As a spokesperson from SNCF highlighted, pre- and post-routing services include the collection of goods and transportation to the logistic warehouse, the handling of goods from trucks to wagons, the unloading of goods from wagons to trucks, and the delivery of goods at one or more points.
SNCF’s network will offer international connections as well
With the new 2RC network, these companies with logistics warehouses can now offer a carbon-free end-to-end transport solution on a national scale. The seven companies that joined SNCF are Dupessey&Co, Laforêt Logistics, Lahaye Global Logistics, Transports Lassalle, MediacoVrac, EderlogMultimodal, and Groupe MGE.
Connecting these locations via SNCF’s rail network would therefore ensure lower emissions for the seven companies involved. By joining the network, these seven companies will be able to reach the most important destination in France via rail. Moreover, SNCF can offer further connections to France’s neighbouring countries, including Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and Belgium. The seven companies will also be able to reach the United Kingdom thanks to rail connections with the north of France.
Also read:
