Europorte

Last updated

Europorte
IndustryRail freight
FoundedDecember 2009
Headquarters
Lille   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
,
France  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Area served
Channel Tunnel, France
~€50 million [1] [note 1]
Number of employees
~550 [1] [note 1]
Parent Getlink
Subsidiaries Europorte Channel
Europorte France
Europorte Proximity
Europorte Services
Socorail
Website www.europorte.com

Europorte is a European rail freight company, a subsidiary of Getlink; operating in France and through the Channel Tunnel.

Contents

The company was formed in 2009 as an entity encompassing the previous operations of Europorte 2 and the France-based businesses of Veolia Cargo. Eurotunnel's original freight business, Europorte 2, was rebranded to become Europorte Channel and moved as a subsidiary under the Europorte division of the Eurotunnel Group. [2] [3]

Subsidiaries

After the acquisition of Veolia Cargo French subsidiaries in 2009, Europorte had five subsidiaries; one previously under Eurotunnel's control and four operations arriving via the purchase. All of these five units had already held permissions as open-access operators on the French railway network since 2004. [note 2] Veolia Cargo Link [3] was also acquired as part of the Veolia Cargo France purchase in 2009; [note 3] Veolia Cargo Link operated as a joint venture between CMA CGM and Veolia Cargo from 2006 until the joint venture was terminated in early 2009 due to lack of profitability. [4] [5] As of 2012 the subsidiary Europorte Link is not listed as operational by Eurotunnel.

UK based rail freight company First GBRf was acquired in 2010 from FirstGroup and rebranded as GB Railfreight. The subsidiary Europorte Services was established (2010) as the operating company of the rail network of the Port of Dunkirk.

Europorte Channel

During 2008 the operation had operated 2718 trains in France and 878 trains through the Channel Tunnel. Its fleet in 2009 consisted of eleven British Rail Class 92 locomotives, and one Alstom Prima electric locomotive. [note 4] In December 2008 Europorte 2 was renamed Europorte Channel, following the acquisition of Veolia Cargo France. [3]

Europorte France

Europorte France (formerly Veolia Cargo France) was acquired in 2009. [6] [7] Including those in use with "Europorte Link", the subsidiary has 28 locomotives and operated over 100 trains per week, with a 163 employees combined. [note 3]

Europorte Proximité

Europorte Proximité constitutes part of the former CFTA Cargo [3] operation, acquired through the purchase of Veolia Cargo France in 2009. The company operates freight trains on the former CFTA Franche-Comté network, a group of secondary lines in France, well known for being the last place in France where a commercial steam train ran (in 1975). The present network is in two parts, based on Châtillon sur Seine (Côte D'Or) and Gray (Haute Saône) the section of line connecting the two having been out of use for some years. The company operates the former CFTA workshops at Gray, well known for maintaining preserved steam locomotives as well as operational diesel locomotives. It also has a track maintenance arm. [note 5]

Socorail

Socorail was acquired as part of Veolia Cargo France in 2009. Socorail provides services on industrial railway sidings, and operates 61 shunting locomotives. [note 6]

GB Railfreight

GB Railfreight was acquired by Europorte from FirstGroup in June 2010 for £31 million. [8] [9] [10] In 2016, GB Railfreight was sold to EQT AB to become part of Hector Rail. [11]

Europorte Services

In January 2010 the Port of Dunkirk awarded Eurotunnel a seven-year to operate its 200 km railway system. [12] The subsidiary Europorte Services began operating the port's rail network in December 2010. [13]

References and notes

Notes

  1. 1 2 Figures at time of creation of company (December 2009) from combined companies.
  2. Europorte company website, section "Europorte"
  3. 1 2 Europorte company website, section "Europorte France and Europorte Link"
  4. Europorte company website, section "Europorte Channel"
  5. Europorte company website, section "Europorte Proximité"
  6. Europorte company website, section "Socorail"

Related Research Articles

Getlink, formerly Groupe Eurotunnel, is a European public company based in Paris that manages and operates the infrastructure of the Channel Tunnel between France and the United Kingdom, operates the LeShuttle railway service, and earns revenue on other trains that operate through the tunnel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DB Cargo UK</span> British rail freight company

DB Cargo UK, is a British rail freight company headquartered in Doncaster, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Rail Class 73</span> British bi-mode locomotive

The British Rail Class 73 is a British electro-diesel locomotive. The type is unusual in that it can operate from the Southern Region's 650/750 V DC third-rail or an on-board diesel engine to allow it to operate on non-electrified routes. This makes it very versatile, although the diesel engine produces less power than is available from the third-rail supply so the locomotives are rarely operated outside of the former Southern Region of British Rail. It is one of the first bi-mode locomotives ever built. Following the withdrawal and scrapping of the more powerful Class 74 bi-mode locomotives in 1977, the Class 73 was unique on the British railway network until the introduction of the Class 88 bi-mode locomotives in 2017. Ten locomotives have been scrapped.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Rail Class 66</span> Class of diesel electric locomotives

The Class 66 is a type of six-axle diesel-electric freight locomotive developed in part from the Class 59, for use on UK railways. Since its introduction the class has been successful and has been sold to British and other European railway companies. In Continental Europe it is marketed as the EMD Class 66 (JT42CWR).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Rail Class 92</span> British electric railway freight locomotive

The British Rail Class 92 is a dual-voltage electric locomotive, which can run on 25 kV AC from overhead wires or 750 V DC from a third rail. It was designed specifically to operate services through the Channel Tunnel between Great Britain and France. Eurotunnel indicates the Class 92 locomotive as the reference for other locomotives which railway undertakings might want to get certified for usage in the Channel tunnel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Rail Class 67</span> Class of diesel-electric locomotives

The Class 67 locomotives are a class of Bo-Bo diesel-electric locomotives that were built for the English Welsh & Scottish Railway (EWS) between 1999 and 2000 by Alstom at Meinfesa in Valencia, Spain with drive components from General Motors' Electro-Motive Division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CMA CGM</span> French shipping company

CMA CGM is a French shipping and logistics company founded in 1978 by Jacques Saadé.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DB Cargo Polska</span>

DB Cargo Polska is a Polish company operating mainly in rail freight transportation. It is presently owned by the German state railway company Deutsche Bahn (DB).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GB Railfreight</span> Rail freight company in the United Kingdom

GB Railfreight (GBRf) is a rail freight company in the United Kingdom. As of 2022, it is owned by the global investment company Infracapital, itself a subsidiary of M&G plc, a UK investment group.

Colas Rail is a railway infrastructure and rail freight company primarily active in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of Bouygues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hector Rail</span> Swedish freight rail company

Hector Rail is a Swedish-based independent train haulage provider. It operates in the European rail transport market and possesses its own rolling stock, including a fleet of 100 locomotives. The company provides both locomotives and drivers to freight customers who need to have whole unit trains hauled between two places with a regular timetable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GB Railways</span>

GB Railways was the parent company of a number of train operating companies, running the Anglia Railways franchise from January 1997 and launching Hull Trains and GB Railfreight. GB Railways was also involved in the management of the Estonian rail company Edelaraudtee and had an investment in Great Southern Rail in Australia.

Veolia Transport Nederland was one of the two Transdev operations in the Netherlands operating bus, train and ferry services. It was a subsidiary of Transdev Netherlands. It ceased in December 2016 with the remaining operations rebranded as Connexxion, also another subsidiary of Transdev Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAIL4CHEM</span>

RAIL4CHEM was a German rail freight transport company, and the parent company of a number of European subsidiary rail freight transport companies including rail4chem Benelux B.V. (Rotterdam), the rail4chem transalpin AG (Basel) and Fer Polska S.A. (Warsaw).

Chemins de fer et transport automobile (CFTA) was a French transport company descended from the Société générale des chemins de fer économiques which operated thousands of kilometres of local railways in France in the late 19th century through to the 1930s.

Veolia Cargo was a European rail freight transportation company that operated mainly in France and Germany. On 2 September 2009, the company was acquired by Eurotunnel and SNCF, the deal being finalised on 1 December 2009.

Europorte Channel is a rail freight train operator which operates rail freight services between France and the United Kingdom through the Channel Tunnel. It is a subsidiary of Europorte.

SNCF Logistics was the division of the SNCF group responsible for freight transportation and logistics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lineas</span> Belgian rail freight company

Lineas is the largest private rail freight operator in Europe. Headquartered in Belgium, it also operates from various sites across France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain. The Federal Holding and Investment Company holds 10% of the shares. Private equity group Argos Wityu and the management of Lineas together hold the remaining 90%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Rail Class 69</span> Class of diesel train locomotive

The British Rail Class 69 is a class of diesel locomotives which are converted from Class 56 locomotives. The conversion work is performed by Progress Rail at their workshop in Longport.

References

  1. 1 2 Europorte Company website www.europorte.com
  2. "Eurotunnel completes first external expansion in its history with the acquisition of the French businesses of Veolia Cargo". Euroinvestor. 1 December 2009.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Falkner, James (1 December 2009). "Eurotunnel completes Veolia Cargo takeover". International Freight Weekly. Informa.
  4. "Veolia Transport : Cargo" (PDF), www.veolia.transport.cn, Veolia Cargo Link, March 2007, archived from the original (PDF) on 10 March 2012, Rail Link Europe, subsidiary of Veolia Cargo and of CMA--CGM ... and Veolia Transport, has launched at the end of 2006 ... combined rail transportation of marine containers, between major port terminals and the main economic regions. Veolia Cargo Link, a rail company (51% controlled by Veolia Transport and 49% by Rail Link), is specialized in transportation by rail of maritime containers
  5. "Veolia and CMA CGM part company", www.worldcargonews.com, 17 March 2009, archived from the original on 29 January 2016, retrieved 10 March 2012
  6. Veolia Cargo sale confirmed Today's Railways Europe issue 166 October 2009 page 6
  7. Eurotunnel and SNCF acquire Veolia Cargo International Railway Journal October 2009 page 16
  8. FIRSTGROUP PLC : Disposal of rail freight business Trading Markets 1 June 2010
  9. Eurotunnel buys GBRf from FirstGroup Reuters 1 June 2010
  10. Eurotunnel buys GBRf The Railway Magazine issue 1312 August 2010 page 10
  11. "EQT completes acquisition of GB Railfreight". Railway Gazette International . 16 November 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  12. "DUNKERQUE PORT choisit EUROTUNNEL pour l'exploitation et la maintenance de son réseau férré", www.dunkerque-port.fr (in French), 13 January 2010
  13. Europorte company website, "EUROPORTE Services", accessdate 10 March 2012