On Thursday 31 March at the SITL Solutions Logistiques show, Réseau Ferré de France and Nestlé Waters France signed a partnership agreement to develop the railway transportation of natural mineral water produced by Nestlé Waters France from its loading sites.

This partnership is the result of the two companies’ shared intention to develop the railway transportation of the natural mineral waters VITTEL, CONTREX, PERRIER and HEPAR. It forms part of the initiative outlined by the National Commitment on Railway Freight.

The logistical solutions and the resources employed by Réseau Ferré de France

The distinctive feature of mineral water is that it needs to be directly bottled at source in order to protect its natural qualities. To make this unique product accessible to consumers and in a context in which sustainable development issues form part of a company’s wider responsibility, RFF and Nestlé Waters France are aiming, through this agreement, to provide more resources for actions to promote railway transportation. Réseau Ferré de France, a railway infrastructure manager, will use every means at its disposal to facilitate the transportation of water produced by Nestlé Waters in France by railway from or to loading sites. As such, RFF will be providing logistical solutions and implementing the necessary resources to maintain railway sidings, which connect the industrial network to the standard railway network, owned by RFF. It will assist its customer by preparing advanced logistical arrangements. In the longer term, it will enable an improvement in infrastructures and allow new services to be offered in order to facilitate logistical arrangements that can potentially generate new railway traffic.

30% of Nestlé Waters France’s volumes are transported by rail

Meanwhile, Nestlé Waters France is continuing its sustainable development strategy: with more than 30% of its volumes transported by rail, it has already achieved a figure 2.2 times higher than the French average for the transportation of goods. Naturally, the signature of this agreement forms part of Nestlé Waters France’s intention to invest more in railway transportation whenever the network, quality of service and an economically viable offering allow. As such, Nestlé Waters France plans to utilise all possible modes of railway transportation: not only the conventional train but also combined transportation modes, mobile car enclosures and embedded trailers. For example, in Vosges, a department that is home to three important sources for the group (the VITTEL, CONTREX and HEPAR brands), nearly 50% of flows are already transported by rail.

This agreement between Réseau Ferré de France and Nestlé Waters France will make it possible to improve control over reliability and achieve more flexibility in railway transportation, with the aim of perpetuating and developing both existing and potential railway traffic for all Nestlé Waters France brands.

A steering committee common to both companies will supervise the implementation of this agreement, which has been concluded for a (renewable) period of five years.