At the beginning of 2025, two new companies will take over from Fret SNCF, the incumbent rail freight operator in France, within Rail Logistics Europe: Hexafret, a rail freight operator, and Technis, a locomotive maintenance company.
This major transformation means that Fret SNCF will not have to repay the EUR 5.3 billion in debt covered by the European Commission’s investigation against the French state for distortion of competition and reinforces the prospects for sustainable growth of rail freight activities within the SNCF group, against a background of major challenges in decarbonizing logistics chains.
Specializing in wagon groupage in France, Hexafret ‘s ambition is to encourage modal shift from road to rail, and to export its unique know-how beyond its borders by connecting France to Europe.
A new player in locomotive maintenance in France, Technis benefits from the expertise of its 500 employees acquired within Fret SNCF to serve its customers. With a strategic presence on France’s major rail freight routes, and a commitment to developing innovative services, Technis ‘s mission is to provide high-performance, accessible maintenance that optimizes locomotives for competitive, forward-looking freight.
Overall, these two new companies are expected to achieve cumulative sales of over EUR 700 million in 2025, almost equivalent to that achieved by Fret SNCF in 2023 before the impact of the discontinuity.
Hexafret and Technis will be integrated into Rail Logistics Europe
The two new companies will be directly integrated into Rail Logistics Europe, which on January 1, will become a fully-fledged group, with a sales target of close to EUR 1.9 billion in 2025 (compared with EUR 1.5 billion in 2020, the year in which SA Fret SNCF was created), consisting of a holding company and 6 brands with companies offering complementary expertise Hexafret and Captrain as rail companies, Technis as locomotive maintainers, Forwardis as freight forwarders, and VIIA and Naviland Cargo as combined rail-road transport experts.
This combination will enable us to meet all our customers’ needs in the rail freight transport and logistics segment in Europe.
Headed by Frédéric Delorme, the group’s ambition is to become the first profitable European player in rail freight transport and logistics, thanks to high-performance, low-carbon solutions designed to promote modal shift.
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