SNCF Geodis, the logistics and goods transport branch of SNCF, and the Spanish service provider COMSA EMTE signed an agreement last week under which SNCF Geodis is to take a stake in COMSA Rail Transport (CRT).
SNCF Geodis is to take a 25% share in the capital of COMSA Rail Transport. As such, a representative of Geodis will sit on the CRT Board of Directors.
In parallel, CRT and SNCF Geodis have signed a partnership to foster the development of rail freight between France, Central Europe and the entire Iberian Peninsula.
With the partnership, CRT and SNCF Geodis are stepping up their collaborative efforts to develop goods transport by rail on both sides of the Pyrenees, notably by taking advantage of the extension of the standard-gauge network in Spain and new infrastructure on the Mediterranean corridor between Gibraltar and Perpignan. Growth will also be driven by VIIA, the rail motorway business of SNCF Geodis, which is reviewing the feasibility of extending the Bettembourg (Luxembourg)-Le Boulou (France) link to Spain.
The agreement has been submitted to the European competition authority for approval. It does not entail a change in the management model of CRT. It stands as a sign of the market’s confidence in the potential of the company and the ability of its management team, which will continue to lead its development.
PHOTO: Javier López
