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Monday 10 May saw the signature of a multi-partner agreement confirming a €7.55m investment to secure the future of a railway line for freight transport between Les Aubrais and Orgères-en-Beauce.
The French government, the Centre-Val de Loire regional council and the AXEREAL and SCAEL cooperatives made a commitment to SNCF Réseau regarding financing for the work on the “capillary” line from Les Aubrais to Orgères-en-Beauce. This line carries some 160,000 tonnes of freight each year, primarily grain. The investment will keep the line running for the next ten years.
“Our Centre-Val de Loire region supplies grain to numerous food production sites across France and in neighbouring countries. Rail transport is essential because it cuts the number of lorries on the roads (one full train carries as much grain as 45 lorries), it helps significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by using non-fossil energy sources, and it secures and optimises our relationships with our customers,” said Axereal Chairman Jean-François Loiseau.
The government and the regional council had stressed the importance of securing the future of this line as part of the regional revival agreement signed at the beginning of the year. This marks the first step towards making these commitments reality and rolling out the revival plan in the Centre-Val de Loire region.
