The head of France’s rail network manager, SNCF Réseau, Matthieu Chabanel, recently appeared before a Senate committee to respond to questions about the state of the nation’s rail freight sector. In his introductory remarks, Jean-François Longeot, the chairman of the committee for regional planning and sustainable development, highlighted that “the deteriorating state of the network is one of the major concerns of rail operators and shippers.”

Other operating difficulties, including the damaging long-term consequences of strikes and the high level of toll charges, are also added to this. Taken together, these difficulties seem to give road transport a comparative advantage, he said.

Longeot went on to quiz Chabanel on SNCF Réseau’s room for manoeuvre, within this context, to improve the situation and make rail freight more attractive and also to ask whether the priority given to passenger rail transport will ever change.

The context for bad rail state

Chabanel began by underlining that 2023 had been a challenging year, with a 13 per cent drop in rail freight traffic due to economic factors: higher energy prices, social unrest linked to pension reform, and a slowdown in the global economy and supply chains. There had been a marked recovery in business in 2024, up 17 per cent on last year.

By 2025, SNCF Réseau expects traffic to return to 2022 levels, boding well for future growth in the sector.
He impressed upon the Senate committee that rail freight emits nine times less carbon than road haulage, and even if the latter mode were to become entirely carbon-free – which remains some way off – train-borne freight would still consume six times less energy per tonne transported – a powerful advantage.

Also read: ‘TAC increases in France are unacceptable unless quality of service drastically improves’

Train paths are a complex equation

In terms of quality of service, Chabanel said customers had two priorities: the availability of train paths enabling them to travel on the network and the guarantee of traffic conditions adapted to their needs.

“First of all, the equation is complex when it comes to train paths. Freight transport on the network has to be reconciled with passenger traffic, which is developing, particularly around the main rail hubs, where citizens expect an expansion of regional express trains but also with the necessary maintenance, renewal and development work on the network.”

He explained that the situation has improved considerably over the last ten years or so. In 2013, the rate of positive responses to requests for train paths was 70 per cent; in 2023, it was 88.8 per cent. As to the score given by customers for SNCF Réseau’s quality of service, this has risen from 5 out of 10 to 7.2 out of 10.

Chabanel said SNCF Réseau had embarked on long-term work, under the aegis of the State and with all stakeholders, to identify five- and ten-year operating plans.

Also read: French road-rail traffic up 18% in Q1 2024, but only because 2023 was bad

No systematic priority for passengers

“This will give us better visibility of traffic requirements for passengers and freight and enable us to plan better the work to be carried out. In addition, thanks to a budget included in the stimulus plan, we have been able to change the conditions for carrying out several projects. Finally, a programme financed to the tune of 50 million euros by the European Union is enabling us to modernise the digital tools used to allocate train paths.”

He rejected claims that SNCF Réseau systematically gave priority to passenger transport and took the example of work scheduled for this year on the Paris-Lyon-Marseille line, particularly in the tunnels north of Dijon. This work requires the track to be completely blocked, and it has been scheduled not at night but during the day—from 9.30 am to 5.30 pm—so as not to eliminate the 3,000 freight trains that use it at night.

“This decision was taken not in our economic interests, since we earn more from passenger train paths, but in the interests of freight companies, for whom this railway artery is absolutely vital.”

Better punctuality

As for traffic conditions adapted to customers’ needs, SNCF Réseau has launched a programme to improve the punctuality of outbound freight trains.

“The 30-minute punctuality rate is currently 82.1 per cent, an improvement of two percentage points on last year. For comparison, this rate is around 60 per cent in Germany. We are also working on train monitoring and the effects of industrial action on freight traffic, whether one-off or otherwise so that freight is not treated any less favourably than passenger traffic in such situations,” he added.