The government extends annual aid of 170 million euros until 2024



Annual aid for rail freight of 170 million euros will be sustained until 2024, Minister Delegate for Transport Jean-Baptiste Djebbari announced on Monday, as part of the national strategy for the development of this declining sector. For years.

“This operating support will be perpetuated over the next three years (…), just to support the operators. It is a strong and unprecedented commitment ”, declared Jean-Baptiste Djebbari at the opening of the Transport and Logistics Innovation Week in Paris. The national strategy, which includes 72 measures, meets the objective of “doubling the modal share of rail freight by 2030”, enshrined in the Climate Law, added the minister, highlighting the virtuous nature of this mode of freight transport by train from an environmental point of view.

The train of great virtue

It is a mode of transport “which makes less noise, leads to fewer accidents, less pollution, less congestion and fewer greenhouse gas emissions”, but which must “be philosophically rethought”, he said. he declared.

The presentation of the national roadmap during Transport and Logistics Innovation Week must be accompanied by the signing of a commitment pact for its implementation with the three main players in the sector: Alliance 4F (French Rail Freight of the Future), representing in particular the operators, SNCF Réseau and the Professional Association of Shippers (AUTF).

Railway doubling

The annual budget of 170 million euros in operating aid (payment of tolls in particular) is added to the investments of 1 billion euros provided for by the recovery plan to support rail freight, which only represents 9% of the internal transport of goods, against nearly 90% for the road. Volumes have also contracted by 43% since 2000.

The objective of doubling the modal share of rail freight from 9% to 18% by 2030 was included in the conclusions of the Citizen’s Climate Convention. In comparison, the share of rail is currently 18% for EU-wide freight transport and Brussels has set itself the target of increasing to 30% by 2030.



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