News / French rail freight chief upbeat on Hexafret launch, despite strike threat

Photo: SNCF

SNCF rail freight chief Frédéric Delorme has sounded an upbeat note on the growth prospects for Hexafret, the new rail freight company borne out of the breakup of Fret SNCF.

Hexafret will enter service at the beginning of next year with Technis, another new entity, specialising in locomotive maintenance. 

Doubts have been expressed about how well Hexafret is likely to fare, given it will focus on groupage and consolidation services, with trains made up of single wagons transporting a diverse range of goods, which a recent study by management consultancy Secafi described as “a diffuse market, complex to operate, volatile and subject to various hazards”. 

Moreover, the restricted scope of activity imposed on Hexafret will weaken it, and “deprive the company of room for manoeuvre”. This will lead to “a more costly business model” and “traffic attrition”, it warned. 

The study concludes, somewhat ironically, given the reasons for Fret SNCF’s discontinuity, that Hexafret will have to depend on state subsidies if it is to be a going concern. 

However, in a French media interview, Mr Delorme, president of Rail Logistics Europe (RLE), which encompasses all the French state railways’ freight subsidiaries, expressed confidence in Hexafret and that it can be profitable, due to some core strengths. 

“Firstly, the company has a nationwide presence, the only one in the sector with this kind of territorial coverage. Also, thanks to our capacity management capabilities, we are able to offer customers any train frequency and take any volume format, thanks to our wagon groupage services, making it possible to transport goods throughout France, as well as across borders,” he explained. 

Given the feedback from many of its shipper/forwarder customers on making greater use of rail freight going forward, RLE estimates that the combined turnover of Hexafret and Technis in 2025 will be equivalent to that of Fret SNCF in 2023: €700m ($739.5m).  

“Our operating margin will be positive, as it was in 2021 and 2022, but at a level we have never achieved in the past,” Mr Delorme said. 

French shippers’ association AUTF has welcomed what it calls “the new configuration of rail freight” in France. However, it expects Hexafret “to demonstrate its strong commitment to guaranteeing the reliability and regularity of its services, in a context of healthy competition”. 

Unsurprisingly, AUTF’s major concern is the prospect of industrial action at the new RLE entities, which it said “would undoubtedly weaken the sector by affecting its performance and making it less attractive, thereby undermining the confidence of shippers whose commitment to rail freight is essential to its success”. 

Mr Delorme is aware that one of his biggest tasks will be to bring stability to labour relations. Some union representatives view the creation of Hexafret and Technis, and the arrival of an external investor as a minority stakeholder, as “creeping” privatisation. 

“It’s true that we have been penalised by industrial action, but I would describe this as political and going beyond SNCF, such as the strike in protest to pension reform,” he said.

“As far as labour relations are concerned, I want to achieve a high level of dialogue, which is the key to keeping and attracting staff and providing a good service to our customers. I am reaching out to the unions so that we can reach good agreements. A positive factor is that we are operating under excellent service quality conditions currently.” 

Last week’s 37-hour strike, partly in protest at the discontinuity of SNCF, was reportedly only supported by about 25% of SNCF workers and had little impact on the rail group’s services. 

However, a union call for rolling industrial action from 11 December has been maintained.