Only one economic activity uses rail transport in Haute-Vienne while freight ticks the boxes for decarbonization.
A boss and CGT unionists hand in hand, it’s rare enough to be highlighted. The director of Carrières de Condat, Christophe Leprovaux, participated on Thursday June 20 in a press conference for railway workers to promote freight.
The example of Pagnac’s career
Today, the Pagnac quarry that he manages, in Verneuil-sur-Vienne, is the only economic activity in the Haute-Vienne department using rail transport. And even. “The railway brake is synonymous for us with a brake on economic development. Closure of the lane (between Saillat-Chassenon and Angoulême, Editor’s note) prevents us from marketing more materials,” explains Christophe Leprovaux.
Deprived of access to the Charente, it is thus impossible for its ballast cargoes to go down to the Gironde by train. “A large part of the materials from the Bordeaux region come from Charente, Vienne, Haute-Vienne and are delivered by truck, whereas it takes forty to have the equivalent of a train. Economically, it is more interesting for the customer to send 1,200 tonnes of goods at once rather than sending forty trucks, and then it is in keeping with the times,” argues the director, who explains that he does not know which door to knock on to find a solution.
Possibilities in Haute-Vienne
For the CGT union, freight potential exists in Haute-Vienne, with the industrial zone north of Limoges, the Primagaz site in Saint-Priest-Taurion, the Ambazac quarries, wood on the Millevaches plateau or industries in Charente limousine. “The International Paper stationery, in Saillat-sur-Vienne, has shown its interest in using freight,” says Adrien Barrero, from the Angoulim user collective.
Interest in ecology
“If tomorrow there is a competitive price, a good rotation, storage space, companies will be interested. Today, they look at their social and environmental responsibilities, if they can reduce their carbon footprint, they take it,” explains Benoît Lematelot, from the CGT railway workers’ federation.
Liberalization has derailed freight, denounces the union, with the number of gigatons per kilometer falling from 50 to 33 in France between 2002 and 2018. “For each ton abandoned or lost by the SNCF, half went directly onto the road », continues the CGT.
“For several years, governments have been talking about piggybacking and rail highways to put trucks directly on the rail, but the development of this type of traffic is at a standstill,” deplores the CGT, which proposes the creation of a platform piggyback service in Limoges.
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