CMA CGM’s expansion

For companies like CMA CGM, vertical integration is the name of the game. The acquisition of the capital of RLE would follow the recent takeover of the intermodal segment of Freightliner UK, finalised at the end of January. Over the past few years, the French shipping company expanded its logistics portfolio with the acquisition of CEVA Logistics, Bolloré Logistics and a 20% stake in the EUROGATE Terminal in Hamburg.

‘Many contracts won or renewed’

RLE’s revenue was down 1,6% to 1,8 billion euros, the decline being mainly attributable to the commercial discontinuity of Fret SNCF (now Hexafret) imposed by European Commission competition requirements. Nevertheless, the EBITDA margin rose to 14.4% versus 11.4% a year earlier. Reviewing the 2025 financial year, the SNCF Group said that RLE had delivered satisfactory results despite difficulties in Europe’s rail freight sector. An unfavourable economic environment and supply-side constraints placed significant pressure on many market participants.

Commercial momentum remained strong, with many contracts won or renewed, including the renewal of steelmaker ArcelorMittal’a freight business in France. Intermodal activities – Forwardis, Naviland Cargo and VIIA’s rolling highway operations – continued to grow as new volumes were gained. New subsidiaries Hexafret and Technis, borne out of the discontinuity of Fret SNCF and, both established at the beginning of 2025, improved service quality in a stabilised social and operational environment and increased their profitability, the SNCF Group noted.

As for Geodis, which has significant rail freight interests, with approximately 120 trains in circulation every week operating across France and Europe, 2025 revenue came to 10,6 billion euros down 3.9% from 2024 on a scope, current and methodology basis. However, it managed to preserve its profitability, holding its EBITDA -to-revenue ratio at the same level as in 2024 (10.7%).

“Today, many essential safety procedures, such as brake tests, train composition checks and axle health monitoring, are still performed manually. Often under difficult conditions — at night, in bad weather — and they are both time-consuming and safety-critical,” explains Antoine Belleguie, innovation project manager at Rail Logistics Europe.

The freight branch of French state operator SNCF (Rail Logistics Europe) is leading the MONITOR project, a collaborative effort launched in 2023 with partners Wabtec and Régie des Transports Métropolitains (RTM) and funded by the French State as part of the France 2030 programme operated by ADEME. Their shared objective is to design, develop and demonstrate a digital monitoring system that can turn traditional manual processes into fast, reliable, data-driven operations. “Our objective is to design, develop and demonstrate a digital monitoring system that transforms traditional manual processes into fast, reliable and data-driven operations.”

MONITOR will equip freight wagons with onboard sensors connected via wired links to control units on each wagon. The main control unit then communicates wirelessly with a central Line Control Unit (LCU) – the brain of the system – which in turn interfaces with the driver through a dedicated human-machine interface. This architecture transforms raw sensor signals into real-time insight into wagon health and train performance.

From one hour to a few minutes

One of the most time-consuming tasks in freight rail is the pre-departure brake test, which currently takes 45–60 minutes for an 850-metre train. With MONITOR, this procedure — traditionally requiring two operators and a full walk along the train — will be digitalised and carried out by the driver alone. Automation is expected to cut the duration of the brake test to just a few minutes, while providing a more robust confirmation of braking performance. “The system sends results directly to the driver’s tablet” Belleguie says. “This is not only a major timesaving, but also a safety gain, as the driver no longer needs to walk along the entire train to perform visual inspections.”

This faster train preparation reduces delays and improves network efficiency and is just one of the many benefits. It’s also another step towards predictive maintenance, detecting brakes, axles and vibration, continuously, to detect issues before they cause failures. At the same time, the system promises to lower costs, mainly by reducing emergency interventions and infrastructure damage. Safety is also set to improve, since ground staff are less exposed to harsh conditions. Lastly, the system cuts energy consumption and extends component lifetimes, leading to environmental gains. “The value is holistic — MONITOR is a transformation tool, not just a set of sensors,” Belleguie emphasises.

Real-world testing in 2026

MONITOR technology will be tested in 2026 on a limited number of wagons in real-world conditions in France. These pilots’ deployments will assess the sensors’ robustness in real operations, as well as communication performance between wagons. If successful, the technology could then scale across Europe, supporting the shift toward smarter, more competitive freight rail.

MONITOR is just the first step toward a fully digitised freight wagon. “Once brake tests, axle condition monitoring, and intra-train communication are digitised, the path opens for richer functionalities: Predictive maintenance, continuous train integrity verification, or even advanced operational automation” Belleguie sums up.

The project complements initiatives like Digital Automatic Coupling (DAC), which modernises the physical connection between wagons. DAC provides automatic coupling, a power supply and a digital backbone for data exchange. MONITOR brings real-time wagon intelligence. Together, they could reshape European freight rail, making it safer, more efficient, and more competitive.

Retroactive to January 2025

It is unclear how much of the total T2 costs will be covered with the 225-million scheme. Data from CPRPF, the entity managing the pension funds of all railway workers, says that it pours seven billion euros in these funds every year. The rail freight sector represents only a small fraction of the total SNCF workforce, estimated at a few of thousands people.

The Commission’s scheme will be retroactively valid to 1 January 2025. “If an eligible worker changes job, the aid will be granted to the next employer, as long as this new employer is also a company active in the rail freight sector”, the EC specified. Liberating the companies from these legacy costs, the Commission argued, will thus contribute to developing rail freight in France.

Just last week, ‘block everything’ protests across France, called by left and far-left activists opposed to French government policies, brought disruption to the schedules of around 15 trains operated by DB Cargo France. It was possible that today’s action would hit the company’s operations harder than on 10 September but a clear picture would only emerge as the day unfolded, Gallo observed. “Between the train paths that will be cancelled and the trains that will be delayed en route, it’s difficult to predict what the impact will be.”

Contacted by RailFreight.com, a spokesperson for SNCF Réseau said the national day of action was likely to lead to disruptions in rail freight operations. The SouthEast, Greater Paris and Rhône-Alpes regions, as well as international traffic, will be most affected. Our teams are currently working to adapt train paths in order to limit the impact on rail freight. Customers are being kept informed of developments in real time.” For its part, no one at Rail Logistics Europe (RLE), which groups all of SNCF’s activities in the rail freight sector, was immediately available to comment when approached by RailFreight.com.

Passenger traffic given priority

Gallo claimed that that in the event of strikes, it was customary for SNCF Réseau’s focus to be on ensuring that traffic control and signalling stations remained open at peak times for passenger trains but not during night-time periods when most freight trains operated. “Once again, this day of action will demonstrate that passenger traffic has a priority over freight.”

SNCF is looking to maintain 90% of passenger services on its long-distance, high-speed TGV network but only 50% of trains on inter-regional services. As for regional and local services, on average, three out of five trains should be running on Thursday but the situation could be worse in the Greater Paris area.

Workers at SNCF are set to be joined in their action by staff from the health, education, and aviation sectors, with unions denouncing “brutal” State budget cuts announced this summer. The authorities are expecting over 400,000 people to demonstrate across the country, while unions claim the turnout of protesters could reach one million.

Legal action

Just under a year ago, nine rail freight operators took legal action against SNCF Réseau before the Paris Commercial Court, claiming that it had abused a force majeure clause to avoid compensating them for train cancellations during strikes in 2023 .

Providing an update on the case, Gallo, who is also president of French rail body, AFRA, said: “We have received the dates for the preliminary hearings. It will be a lengthy process. Compensation as such is not necessarily the issue, what we are challenging is SNCF Réseau’s systematic application of the force majeure clause whenever national cross-industry industrial action takes place.

“Through this joint action, we are pushing SNCF Réseau to maintain freight traffic in the same way as passenger trains.”

HGVs are bypassing Germany to avoid tax

Farandou said the principle of a tax on HGVs already existed with the euro-vignette scheme in Germany. Asked about the reports that a number of foreign trucks were getting around this scheme by crossing into France to avoid German territory so as not to pay the tax, Farandou replied:

“This is exactly what is happening. I’ve been in discussions with elected officials in eastern France who are fed with the impact of many HGVs traversing their region. When you have 40-ton trucks passing through a village that has the misfortune of being in proximity to an A road, one can well imagine the concern of the local population. It simply doesn’t make sense”.

‘Foreign trucks would be targeted’

Asked whether he would make the distinction between trucks in transit, which are foreign-registered and those which have French plates, he said that in his view it is international transit that is causing damage to French transport infrastructure. “I’m not a legal expert and don’t know exactly how far we can go in making a distinction of this kind but in spirit at least, it is the foreign truck that would be targeted.”

France’s Minister of Transport, Philippe Tabarot, recently hinted at a possible eco-tax on trucks to rebalance competition between road haulage and rail freight. He has also pledged support to redirect the proceeds from the country’s network of toll motorways to rail with the aim of modernising infrastructure.

In an interview with RailFreight.com, DB Cargo France CEO Alexandre Gallo provided a rail freight industry take on the issue.

Alexandre Gallo (AG): More than ever! For several years now, we’ve been experiencing traffic problems due to the condition of the rails and the catenary systems.

Let me give you two examples: On a route between Forbach (in eastern France) and Bayonne (on the French-Spanish border), the ‘theoretical’ speed (of trains) is 120 kilometres per hour (kph), but the actual speed is only 64 kph. This slower speed is due to numerous points on the itineraries where trains have to slow down or where works are being carried out.

The state of the catenaries is causing premature wear of the contact strips, necessitating more frequent replacement, but also leading to recurrent pantograph problems.

RailFreight.com: No surprise then at SNCF’s assessment?

AG: Absolutely not! The report illustrates the backwardness of track maintenance over the last few decades. We’ve been saying this for years, and it’s even better when the authority responsible for this infrastructure says it outright!

RailFreight.com: Has there been any improvement in recent years?

AG: SNCF Réseau (the rail infrastructure manager) has made significant efforts to mitigate the disruption caused by works and has undertaken a series of urgent repairs. So I would say no on improvement, but no deterioration either. As for the long term, we may wonder about SNCF Réseau’s ability to adapt the network and its facilities to climate change.

RailFreight.com: How does the state of France’s rail network compare to that of other European countries?

AG: With an average age of 30 years, compared with 15 to 17 years for our neighbours, the French network is inevitably in poorer condition! Clearly, the fact that road traffic is not taxed in France, whereas it is in the majority of European countries, is denying the French rail industry the level of funding necessary to significantly improve the network. What’s more, the infrastructure manager needs multi-year visibility of the State’s commitment, which is not the case today.

RailFreight.com: With regard to rail infrastructure dedicated to freight traffic, do you think that real progress is being made in improving secondary/capillary and service lines following the increase in public spending, notably through the Ulysse Fret programme co-funded by the EU and France?

AG: This programme entails the investment of some 4.2 billion euros in rail freight over a period running well into the 2030s and beyond. Provision is made for France’s regional authorities and the State to commit to funding half of this amount, but for the moment, nothing is guaranteed.

Work has started on renovating some rail freight infrastructure, such as the marshalling yards at traffic hubs such as Miramas, near Marseille and Woippy, in proximity to Metz. For capillary lines, progress is still difficult to measure.

At a time when improvements are required urgently, it’s a concern that some of the development projects within the Ulysse Fret programme are only scheduled to be carried out around 2035 or even 2040.

In a written analysis addressed to a panel of 54 experts SNCF warned that without additional investment, the long-term viability and performance of the core network would be under threat. It argued that France’s rail infrastructure would fall behind the regulatory and competition challenges, particularly in terms of increasing capacity and become a second-rate network.

Avoid the German path

Germany provided a cautionary tale, where a long history of procrastination with regard to the upkeep of the national rail network now sees the country in catch-up mode which has triggered a sharp deterioration in train punctuality. The French authorities have fixed an objective of spending 4.5 billion euros a year in modernising the rail network – which experts consider to be a minimum not an optimum figure, up from 3 billion euros. However, budgetary cuts are exerting significant pressure on this target.

SNCF, which has posted four consecutive years in the black, is set to increase its annual spending on the upkeep of the network by 500 million euros from 2028. To the backdrop of an empty public purse, SNCF is recommending several potential sources to fund the maintenance of the rail network. One of them is to draw on the proceeds obtained by the state from toll motorway concessions which could generate at least 1 billion euros annually. France’s transport minister Philippe Tabarot has pledged his support for such a move which has been applauded by French rail freight industry body, Alliance 4F.

Rumours about a possible discontinuation of this rail highway already surfaced a month ago, when AFA CEO underlined the impossibility of restarting it without concrete financial help. AFA is co-owned by Italian Mercitalia and French SNCF. Representatives from the Italian government are now saying that the two countries are looking for a funding mechanism. However, such an initiative would need European approval, which means longer times during which the vehicles will be travelling on the road.

“That continuity and the market positions achieved through our diversification strategy have paid off, securing solid positions in our markets and generating profitable growth while stabilizing our debt.”

Positive results from the rail freight cluster

Rail Logistics Europe (RLE), which groups all of the French state railways freight subsidiaries, posted an EBITDA of 211 million euros, an increase of 11.4 per cent on the previous 12 months. Turnover rose 7.9 per cent to just over 1.8 billion euros driven by dynamic activity in certain market segments. Year-over-year growth was also due in part to the fact that 2023 results had been negatively affected by prolonged industrial action.

Last year was characterised by major upheaval for RLE with the discontinuity of Fret SNCF, ordered by the European Commission following suspicions of receiving illegal state aid. The rail freight unit was forced to relinquish 23 traffic routes. “Yet, in addition to the favourable basis of comparison resulting from the strikes in 2023 which disrupted access to the rail network, the withdrawal of these routes was offset by an aggressive push to expand business overall, despite competition from road transport. Volumes were thus higher than projected, particularly for chemicals and petroleum products,” SNCF noted.

Captrain’s pan-European business was resilient in a tough macroeconomic environment. In France, Captrain teamed up with Eiffage Rail to win a contract for renovating high-speed and conventional lines using special works trains. This contract will run from 2025 to 2030. Naviland Cargo, which specialises in the transport of maritime containers by rail, posted a solid year, boosted by its acquisition of Lardon at the end of 2023. Forwarding arm Forwardis posted a record year in terms of traffic volumes in the gas, petrol and chemicals segments.

As for RLE’s rolling highway operator, VIIA, 2024 was a buoyant year with an increase in frequencies and load factors. The Bettembourg-Le Boulou Lorry Rail service, stretching from Luxembourg to the French-Spanish border, achieved record load factors. As for the Alpine Rail Motorway (AFA), linking France and Italy, it has been suspended since a major landslide in the Maurienne Valley with its resumption expected in the second quarter of 2025.

Towards decarbonisation

Moves to streamline RLE’s business portfolio continued last year, SNCF added. Turning to the development of modal shift and the decarbonisation of goods transport in France, RLE transported more than 30 billion tonne/kilometres of freight in 2024, with 80 per cent of the traction powered by electricity. It was thus able to reduce CO2 emissions by 1.7 million tonnes.