RAIL Logistics Europe (RLE), the freight division of French National Railways (SNCF), has begun the process of seeking a minority investor which is expected to be concluded next year, according to French daily newspaper Le Monde.
Opening up the capital of RLE was one of a number of requirements made by the European Commission (EC) following its investigation into allegations that the French government provided illegal state aid for Fret SNCF between 2007 and 2019. The EC also required SNCF to divest 23 services to competing operators and eliminate its chronic losses from freight operations.
RLE consists of six subsidiaries, including the former Fret SNCF which has been renamed as Hexafret and mainly operates conventional trainload and wagonload services. Captrain operates a variety of services in France and other countries in the European Union (EU), while VIIA manages intermodal services, mainly operated with Modalohr swing-tray wagons for carrying road semi-trailers.
Jointly managed with VIIA, Naviland Cargo operates container trains that mainly carry maritime traffic between ports and inland terminals. The remaining RLE subsidiaries are Forwardis, a freight forwarder, and rolling stock maintenance business Technis.
According to reports in French media, Hexafret on its own would not attract investors. French container shipping line CMA CGM, which recently acquired intermodal operator Freightliner in Britain, has already shown an interest in RLE.
In 2025 RLE recorded turnover of €1.8bn, down 1.6% from the year before. Ebita was €260m in 2025, representing 14.4% of turnover compared with 11.4% the year before.
