SNCF Logistics, a multi-modal operator

SNCF Logistics, the division of SNCF responsible for freight transportation and logistics, is an international multi-modal operator. SNCF Logistics set itself two priorities:

  • Boost the competitive performance of goods transport by rail,
  • Pursue the shift from road to rail, in particular by creating a European network of rail motorways by 2020:

   - transfer 500,000 lorry runs to rail,
   - prevent 450,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.

The 2009 Grenelle environmental roundtable

  • Target for 2022: 25% of goods transported by rail and waterway (14% in 2009), representing a 2 million-tonne cut in CO2 emissions per year.

The economic and environmental advantages of transporting goods by rail

  • Lower CO2 emissions than road transport: 1.3% of CO2 emissions in France caused by transport (93% come from transport by road),
  • Two to three times more energy efficient that transport by road. With the energy equivalent to 1 kg of petrol per tonne of goods, a train covers 111 km and a lorry covers 58 km,
  • Higher carriage capacity than road transport: 2,400 tonnes per train,
  • Competitive over distances greater than 600 km,
  • Improved safety.