Freight task force set up by French rail network
February 1, 2012
France’s rail network manager, RFF, has set up a taskforce dedicated to freight traffic and described the initiative as “the first of its kind”.
The 35-strong team will work closely with key account rail freight customers to better co-ordinate the planning and operation of freight trains.
The move has been prompted by the difficulties experienced by operators in obtaining freight train slots – network capacity reserved for freight traffic – largely due to the vast modernisation work being carried out on France’s rail network.
Most of this work is carried out during the night, when the majority of freight trains operate.
An RFF spokesperson told IFW: “Half the taskforce will deal with slots booked well in advance while the other half will focus on slots allocated at the last minute – the main objective being to anticipate problems and work out solutions.”
In a separate initiative, RFF is working on drawing up a programme of freight train slots scheduled to come into effect in 2013.
“The taskforce has been set-up as an immediate response to the requirements of rail freight firms that are having to cope with far from ideal operating conditions. The programme of dedicated freight train slots, to be integrated into next year’s timetabling, is designed to provide a significant, long-lasting improvement in services,” the spokesperson added.
Feedback from industry sources reveals that improvement can’t come quickly enough, with last year’s “slot crisis” continuing into the first few weeks of 2012.
Operating difficulties aside, market conditions continue to be depressed in the rail freight sector, with one operator forecasting that its traffic volumes for the early months of 2012, were likely to be down 10% on 2011 – also a poor year.
Courtesy of IFW
