France aims to double amount of rail freight transport by 2030
On Monday, France's Transport Minister, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, declared that the French Government intends to invest €170 million every year until 2024 so as to double the amount of goods transported by rail freight by 2030.
On Monday, France's Transport Minister, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, declared that the French Government intends to invest €170 million every year until 2024 so as to double the amount of goods transported by rail freight by 2030.
The investment, described as “strong and unprecedented engagement” is intended to help France reach its new climate targets.
At a press conference, the Transport Minister praised rail freight as a cargo transport medium, saying it “makes less noise, causes fewer accidents, less pollution, fewer traffic jams and less greenhouse gas emissions.”
The €170 million annual investments shall pay for half of the cost of the tolls that rail freight operator SNCF pays to access the country’s rail network. On top of that, €70,000 is to be spent on isolated wagons, while an additional €47,000 is to go to towards the operation of combined transport services.
In the last 6 years, France has spent €3.5 billion on its sustainability programme that shall support the regeneration of trains and routes linking key French cities until 2027.
Finally, €4.7 billion has been put towards a recovery plan that shall revamp the quality of the railway network.
Photo: Cjp24, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (image cropped)
