Paris, 28 September 2010 – Mr. Hubert du Mesnil, Chairman of Réseau Ferré de France (the French rail track authority), and Mr. Jean-Michel Soufflet, Chairman of the Soufflet Group’s Executive Board, signed a partnership agreement to develop rail freight.

The partnership results from the joint intention of both enterprises to increase the transport of goods by rail, in particular to neighbouring European countries. It accords with principles outlined by France’s commitment to rail freight.

The partnership agreement covers a dozen railway lines serving Soufflet Group sites. Réseau Ferré de France (RFF, the French rail track authority) wants to support the Soufflet Group, which specialises in cereal trading and processing, in developing and ensuring the future of the lines. To that end, it is organising consultations and cooperation between the two enterprises to assess the Soufflet Group’s transport requirements.

The partnership provides that RFF undertakes to renovate certain railway lines serving the Soufflet Group’s silos. For its part, the Soufflet Group undertakes to guarantee a minimal volume of traffic on the rehabilitated lines.
A joint steering committee between the two enterprises will supervise implementation of the present partnership, made for an indefinite period.

About Réseau Ferré de France
The central player in rail transport in France, Réseau Ferré de France provides a dense, evolving network of nearly 30,000 kilometres, and is constantly adapting to new needs for people and goods to move about. By 2016, Réseau Ferré de France will have expanded the French high speed rail network by nearly 40%.
It has numerous duties. Apart from day-to-day management of the network that it owns (traffic, maintenance, allocating railway traffic between user companies, etc.), the enterprise deploys substantial resources to modernise the network and enhance its performance.
For further information visit www.rff.fr

Contacts Presse

Réseau Ferré de France
Jean-Marie Guillemot                        
01 53 94 30 14 - 06 42 08 29 05               
jean-marie.guillemot@rff.fr      

Groupe Soufflet
Thierry Berger
06 82 81 38 72
tberger@soufflet-group.com             

Partnership Soufflet RFF Press release