Europorte is awarded a rail freight operator's licence following the decision of the French Transport Minister and Secretary for Transport.
This is the first licence to be granted in France since the TransEuropean rail freight market was opened to competition on 15 March 2003.
Europorte hauled the 1st privately owned international train between France and Germany
Circulation of the 1st privately owned wagonload train in France, hauled by Europorte.
Europorte obtained, from the French Minister for Equipment and Transport, a new European Community Railway Operator’s licence.
Five new Class 92 locomotives were added to the Europorte rolling stock fleet. These multi-current electric locomotives with a 5MW power, which were built in the United Kingdom between 1993 and 1996, are Channel Tunnel compliant. This investment demonstrates the Group's commitment to develop cross-Channel rail freight and enhance its railway know-how.
Eurotunnel, Europorte and the Port Autonome de Dunkerque (PAD) (Port of Dunkirk) have signed a strategic partnership agreement with the intention of developing a coordinated approach to rail freight activities, an environmentally-friendly mode of transport.
Start of cross-Channel open access freight traffic by Europorte which takes over the ground operations at Frethun (Pas-de-Calais) for all cross-Channel rail freight traffic and traction of goods trains between Dollands Moor (Kent) and Frethun via the Tunnel.
With the completion of the acquisition of the French businesses of Veolia Cargo initiated on 2 September, Europorte takes on a leading role in the French rail freight market. The companies concerned are Veolia Cargo France, Veolia Cargo Link, CFTA Cargo and Socorail, which offer a wide range of integrated rail freight services: haulage of rail freight at both national and international level, local freight services on secondary lines and industrial services (management of local connections, infrastructure maintenance, loading/unloading wagons). Europorte will be able to better provide for the increasing customer demand for efficient and environmentally sustainable solutions.
With the acquisition of GB Railfreight, the Group becomes a major player in rail freight on a European scale, thanks to the complementarity between its rail freight subsidiary Europorte and GB Railfreight, the 3rd largest rail freight operator in the UK. GB Railfreight is operating on all railways segment (intermodal, bulk, infrastructure), with a large diversified portfolio comprising international customers (Bombardier, British Gypsum, EDF Energy, Drax). GB Railfreight and Europorte share the same values such as quality of service, flexibility and respect for customers.
Europorte has won a 3-year major contract with Cerevia (one of the major player in agriculture in France) to transport 250,000 tonnes of grain for distribution from its grain storage facilities in Burgundy and Yonne to Fos-sur-Mer near Marseille.
Europorte wins a first privately owned port infrastructure rail network manager contract for 6 years with the Port of Dunkirk. On 21 December at 13:50, Europorte Services took on the operations and maintenance of the railway network at the port of Dunkirk, which comprised 200km of railway tracks (including 50km of electrified tracks), 400 points and crossings, 7 links and 5 switching stations. This largest rail site in France is used by more than 120 trains each week.
Europorte France and Belgian logistics company, Eurorail, signed the renewal of two strategic contracts for a further 3 years: one is the rail link to Golbey, in the Vosges, for the Norwegian paper manufacturer, Norske Skog and the other for a link between Lérouville, in the Meuse, and Le Boulou, on the Spanish border, with loaded trains in both directions.
Safety Certificate awarded in Belgium to Europorte
Europorte innovates by fitting its locomotives with an intelligent location-based system in order to further improve traffic efficiency, enhance safety and optimise resource management.
Europorte Channel, which provides traction services for rail freight trains through the Channel Tunnel and international haulage from Spain and Italy to the UK, has been granted approval for the use of its fleet of Class 92 locomotives on HS1 between London and the Channel Tunnel.
Europorte won the competitive tender from Ports de Paris
Europorte trains now authorised to operate in Belgium. Europorte has been certified, as part of its European licence, to operate its goods trains on Infrabel, the Belgian rail network. This safety certification, issued by the SCCIF (Service de sécurité et d’Interopérabilité des chemins de fer, the Belgian railway safety authority) allows Europorte to extend its development in Belgium. For example, since 19 March Europorte has been operating direct services up to six times per week, under licence, between the quarry at Lessines (Belgium) and the cement works at Obourg, to Amiens (Picardy).
Europorte wins contract at Atlantic Port of Bordeaux for a period of 8 years.
Europorte won the contract at the Port Autonome of Strasbourg to manage railway operations and to maintain its railway infrastructure for a period of 5 years.
Europorte and Cerevia, the leading high-value agricultural cooperative in France, have announced the joint creation of a local railway operator under the name “Bourgogne Fret Services”. Bourgogne Fret Services is co-owned by Europorte (67%) and Cerevia (33%) and reflects the trust between the two partners, extending the cooperation that began back in 2010 when Cerevia awarded Europorte a contract to transport 390,000 tonnes of wheat and barley from its silos in Burgundy and silos on the Rhine and Moselle rivers to Fos-sur-Mer.
Europorte won the competitive tender from the Grand Port Maritime at La Rochelle
Cérévia, the commercial arm of 7 cooperative groups across 3 regions (Bourgogne, Franche-Comté and Rhone-Alpes) and Europorte celebrated the 1,000th train between the Burgundian hub at Venarey-les-Laumes and the Tellines’site at Port-Saint-Louis (Port de Marseille –Fos).
The Europorte-Cérévia 5-year partnership in numbers:
· A 1,335 tonnes train between the two sites 6 days per week since 2010
· 1.3 million tonnes of cereals transported between the two sites since 2009
· 375,000 tonnes of cereals carried by rail, on average, in each of the last three campaigns
· 40% of volume to Port-Saint-Louis delivered by rail.
Start of operation and maintenance management by Europorte on the 13.6km line between Laluque and Tartas in the Landes region (South-West of France). The servicing of feeder neworks, the low-traffic small lines that serve industrial sites, represents a development opportunity for Europorte.
Europorte is pursuing the rationalisation of its locomotives fleet with the delivery of 4 new Euro 4000 locomotives, the most powerful and reliable machines in Europe.
GB Railfreight is named Operator of the Year at the UK Rail Industry Awards 2015 for its operating performance, quality of service and innovative solutions.
Europorte and Lhoist, one of the world’s leading producers of high calcium quicklime, magnesium and other minerals, celebrate a decade of partnership. This successful arrangement, which has lasted for ten years has been based on quality of service, safety and performance, with very high punctuality rates (above 95%), and is an important pillar of this traffic which keeps two steel furnaces in continuous operation.
Seven Vossloh DE 18 locomotives, with a 1.8MW power, entered service at Europorte France in 2015.
Saint Nazaire Port has reselected Europorte to manage, operate and maintain its railway infrastructure for a further five years, renewable for an additional three years. Europorte was able to demonstrate the productivity, customer focus and flexibility to deliver a high quality of service.
Getlink completes the sale of its British rail freight subsidiary, GB Railfreight, to EQT Infrastructure II.
Europorte Services is widening its scope by developing the activity of track maintenance and first-level maintenance of wagons on industrial sites.
New traffic between Tessenderlo (Belgium) and Mazingarbe (France). Europorte France provides 5 to 6 trains per week transporting raw materials produced in Tessenderlo and used for the PVC production in Mazingarbe.
New trafic of clincker (cement product) to La Couronne from two loading points: the first one in Martres Tolosane and the second one in Port La Nouvelle which include the traction of trains but also railway handlings, loading of goods and maintenance work on the tracks in La Couronne.
Europorte is committed to rail freight with Rail Freight Forward and its Noah Train, a street art event intended to raise public and stakeholders’ awareness on the environmental benefits of modal shift and rail freight.
Europorte is pursing the development of its activity in Belgium, with the delivery of the content of a Europorte train at the Port of Ghent
Europorte, in partnership with Railnova and the Ecole polytechnique, is developing an innovative approach to predictive maintenance through the use of Big data in order to increase the availability and the reliability of its locomotive fleet.
Europorte, already certified with the TK’Blue label, has been awarded the 2019 eco-responsible transport trophy from TK’Blue, the international labelling and rating agency of transportation, in particular for its strengthened commitment to using electric locomotives, its equipment in monitoring energy consumption and its action to promote rail freight, an environmentally-friendly mode of transport.
At the request of the French SNCF Rail Testing Agency, Europorte France recently carried out some railway operations hauling of one of the Italian passenger railway company (Trenitalia) Zefiro high-speed trains. This took place at the Montbéliard railway station over a two-week period.
Europorte teams were mobilised to deliver 250,000 tonnes of Benzene to Seqens, an international group of pharma synthesis which supplies isopropanol in Europe, a key product used for the manufacturing of hand sanitiser. By participating actively in supplying the production chain in raw materials within the context of Covid-19, Europe and its teams have demonstrated the vital role of rail freight.
A flexible multi-directions offer enabling this cooperative to guarantee best trade according to the grain market fluctuations: 2,000 trains hauled and 2.5M tonnes of all types of cereals transported.
For the past 4 years, this partnership, based on reliability in particular, comprises daily and weekly traffic with 40 receivers spread over 3 geographical areas as well as one-off service trains (spot trains) according to needs: 1,000 trains hauled and 1M tonnes of fertiliser transported.
This long-term partnership is based on performance and sustainable development: 1.1M tonnes of cement transported on 850 trains, which represents 5,000 trucks off the road every year.
RATP Dev and Getlink, in collaboration with Europorte, announced the creation of Régionéo, new regional railway operator for passenger services to respond to tenders in view of the opening up of the rail market in France. Régionéo will offer innovative and tailor-made railway services, responding to the regions’ needs and to the highest standards of operational excellence and quality of service for passengers.
New international Flex Express rail freight service between France, Germany and the Benelux countries linking at regular frequency the main industrial and petrochemical sites of the three countries.
Launch of the Getlink Group's 2025 Environmental Plan with a trajectory to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2025 which is validated by the SBTI initiative and with the ambition to contribute to carbon neutrality in 2050.
Europorte France will extend the use of Oleo 100, a renewable and biodegradable biofuel made entirely from French rapeseed residues, in its locomotives to other traffic in commercial service and reduce its CO2 emissions by 60% over the entire life cycle.
Europorte France speeds up its international development by becoming the first rail freight company in France to obtain ERA’s Single Safety Certificate with validity in several countries.
Europorte France carried out successful traction tests of the new Euro 6000 locomotive over a period of one month on the national rail network of the new Euro 6000 locomotive in view to gaining certification.
Europorte certified Gold EcoVadis for the 3rd year in a row for its daily commitment and management of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).