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GEFCO takes hands-on approach to rail
[ April 25, 2012 // Chris ]French logistics specialist GEFCO has is to develop its own rail transport network in Europe.
Since 11 December, GEFCO has worked with three private railway operators to transport automobiles to destinations throughout France and Europe and now uses rail for 25% of its automotive activity, compared to a European average of 17%.
In July 2010, GEFCO called for bids on a line-by-line basis to select rail operators for each geographic region. Activity in Central and Eastern France was awarded to Euro Cargo Rail, a subsidiary of DB Schenker Rail, Southern France to Europorte France, a Eurotunnel subsidiary, and the northern and western regions to Colas Rail, a subsidiary of the Bouygues group.
Delivery times have been greatly improved. The Sochaux-Calais connection, for example, now takes an average time of 26 hours; five days less than previously.
Some 150 trains each week are assigned to GEFCO, transporting 500,000 vehicles each year. GEFCO’s objective is ultimately to run 250 trains a week.