Axefret

Is a dedicated combined-transport corridor profitable? Making rail competitive: Rail competitiveness is a challenge. We believe it hinges on meeting objectives that ensure: sufficient capacity (expressed in heavy-goods vehicle equivalents, or HGVEs—roughly two 20-foot equivalent units, or TEUs); frequencies high enough to offer flexibility competitive with end-to-end road transport; adequate access to the regions served along the corridor; point-to-point travel speeds (from actual origin to actual destination) comparable to road transport; and overall reliability comparable to road transport. Furthermore, the service must be provided at a cost significantly lower than current levels, enabling a door-to-door cost comparable to that of road transport. Yet that is not all; these conditions must be met while ensuring an acceptable return on the necessary investments, particularly in infrastructure. The AxeFret project aims to assess the economic and organizational feasibility of a rail corridor dedicated to combined rail-road transport within this context. However, it is evident that the current combined transport system relies on a business model incapable of long-term viability without massive subsidies, and unable to achieve sufficient growth. We must therefore examine the conditions required for the profitability of a system that meets minimum specifications regarding cost, frequency, accessibility, speed, and capacity.