XPO Logistics has announced an exclusive, tripartite agreement with Sogaris and Eurorail for the design, operation and marketing of an innovative transport solution that will integrate an urban rail shuttle to serve Paris and its inner suburbs. 

Created within the framework of Chapelle International’s logistics hotel project, the shuttle is scheduled to commence operation in September 2017.

This landmark project in urban logistics will enable the routing of products to the heart of Paris by combining a railway shuttle and road transport. The seamless solution is designed to provide a reliable, economically efficient and eco-responsible last mile service. 

Thanks to an urban rail terminal (TFU) operating as of September 2017, companies with high commercial density in Paris and its inner suburbs will have the opportunity to use a ‘short-line’ service between an upstream base located in the northern region of Ile-de-France and Paris. Each shuttle will be able to transport 60 container cars of products. 

The products will then be distributed on XPO Logistics trucks that use alternative fuels such as gas (NGV) instead of diesel. This solution will contribute to the reduction of diesel use in Paris for the transportation of merchandise, with an average of 30 fewer trucks per day on the streets of the city.

A six-step logistics solution

Sogaris Paris : les espaces logistiques urbains subsidiary handled jointly by Sogaris, the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations and Paris Haropa Port is project lead for Chapelle International. Sogaris will work in collaboration with railway operator Eurorail and XPO Logistics to design, operate and market an integrated transport solution that moves goods from warehouses to the points of sale. 

As organiser of the global transport solution, XPO Logistics’ role is to design, direct and market the transport solution, and to provide the road transport. 

Railway operator Eurorail, through its RegioRail subsidiary, will provide the management of the merchandise routing by rail, including reserving train paths with the SNCF network, renting freight cars and managing train driver teams.  

“Chapelle International and the urban rail shuttle mark a revolution for urban logistics in the Greater Paris area. Efficient, green and innovative, this solution is emblematic of what needs to be developed on strategic metropolitan sites to improve the transport of goods and thus meet the needs of inhabitants,” says Jonathan Sebbane, CEO of Sogaris.

“A real breakthrough in rail logistics with an urban rail shuttle and the associated operations of an ultra-modern terminal, this new solution illustrates that rail transport can be both civic and innovative, through mass-scale distribution at the heart of a major city,” adds Alexandre Gallo, General Manager of International Eurorail.

"With this multi-modal innovation, a pioneer in Paris and complementary to our XPO shipment services via the Seine, we will be able to offer our customers a reliable urban supply and distribution solution that is economically efficient and in line with the commitment of Paris and its suburbs to reduce the environmental impact of urban logistics,” says Luis Angel Gomez, managing director of transport solutions for XPO Logistics Europe.