‘We want to offer all elements of the mobility chain’
CFL CEO Marc Wengler explains the focal points of the 2023 Annual Report.
Marc Wengler, the CFL published their results for 2023 on 10 June. What conclusions do you personally draw from the past year?
Last year was a record-breaking year and I would like to thank all our employees for their commitment and contribution to these outstanding results. In terms of turnover, we exceeded one billion euros for the third time in a row. With 28.7 million customers travelling on our trains, we broke the passenger record of 25 million set in 2019. So while we were still well below this level in previous years, mainly due to the impact of the pandemic, we are now back on track.
So the train remains an attractive mode of public transport?
Yes, and the figures speak for themselves. Luxembourg and the Greater Region are constantly evolving, especially demographically. With the increase in population come additional mobility needs. They cannot be met by private transport only. The magic word is multimodality. The train has a special role to play in the mobility chain in and around Luxembourg. No other mode of transport has the capacity that a train can offer. The train is therefore more popular than ever. Now it is up to us to ensure that it remains attractive…
The CFL presented their Annual Report on Monday 10 June 2024.
…which is a complex issue…
The issue of capacity is particularly important in local public transport. Offering seats that meet clients’ demand is a clear guiding principle for our company. At the end of 2018, we invested a record budget in the expansion of our fleet. With 34 new Coradia electric railcars and a budget of 400 million euros, we have sent a clear signal in favour of the train. This will enable us to offer 46% more seats by 2025/26.
But it’s not enough to run more trains on a rail network that, as recent years have shown, has reached its limits?
That’s why we’ve been working for several years to relieve congestion and further develop the rail network. This work by the CFL continued in 2023, during 301 days of intensive work on the rail network. The focus is on several fronts: on the one hand, the ongoing maintenance of the existing network in order to continue to guarantee the safety and comfort of employees and customers. Secondly, the CFL are working on the creation of multimodal interchange hubs. Last year, we were able to provide a modern multimodal hub at Mersch station that meets the different mobility needs of our customers.
So tomorrow’s mobility will be multimodal?
Absolutely. We, as the CFL, want to offer our customers all the elements in the mobility chain. In 2023, for example, we took over the management of the former mbox network. With more than 70 bikeboxes, we offer customers travelling by bike the opportunity to park their two wheels in safety and continue their journey by train. Since last year, the CFL have also a dedicated specific strategy to cycling. Travelling by using a bicycle must become easier. For our customers, this means more space on trains to park their bikes safely, lifts in stations that make it easier to transport bikes, bicycle stairways that make it easier to transport them inside stations, and signage that is easy to understand.
However, the car remains an important link in the mobility chain…
The car continues to play an important role in the daily mobility of many customers. To make it even easier for them to combine car and train, we are also planning to increase parking facilities in the immediate surroundings of the CFL stations. In 2023 alone, the opening of the Mersch and Rodange P+Rs has enabled us to provide 2,000 additional parking spaces, bringing our total offer to 8,512 spaces in all our car parks. A powerful argument for customers who want to benefit from the combined advantages of the car and the train.
At the same time, we are continuing to expand the range of services offered by our subsidiary CFL mobility and its Flex brand – in line with the times – so that customers can remain mobile in their daily lives without necessarily having to own their own car. More and more people are giving up the private car for their daily journeys and making conscious use of public transport, which is just as efficient and more sustainable. With the Flex fleet, we offer our customers mobility solutions that help them to cover the first and last few kilometres by car sharing. A model with a future: last year we recorded a 25% increase in the number of Flex subscribers. When it comes to mobility, we’re really seeing a paradigm shift, a change in mentality. And it’s a train on which we want to be well positioned.
‘Compared to road, freight transport by rail is more sustainable.’
Marc Wengler, CEO of the CFL Group
A new mindset that goes beyond passenger transport?
We have also been seeing a rethink in the area of freight transport for several years. If we want to achieve the Green Deal and the European Union’s CO2 reduction targets, the transport sector must become more sustainable and innovative. With our broad range of solutions that cover all links in the logistics chain, we are specifically promoting this rethink.
Compared to road transport, freight transport by rail is more sustainable. Rail emits nine times less CO2, causes eight times less air pollution and consumes six times less energy. Clear arguments in favour of rail. In addition to the sustainability aspect, our freight activities also offer the advantages of a ‘one-shop-stop’. All logistical needs are covered by our freight departments and our customers therefore only have to deal with one contact person.
In 2023, the CFL Group was able to integrate another pillar in the freight sector…
Multimodality plays an important role in our strategy. If we want to continue to position ourselves as a logistics hub in Europe, it is important to be able to cover a wide range of logistics solutions. With this in mind, the CFL Group acquired shares in the main operator of the ‘Port der Mertert’ last year. With this strategic move, we are now organising our freight activities on a trimodal basis, i.e. we cover rail, road and sea. This is a further building block in our activities, which already link the major European sea ports.
‘To remain attractive, rail freight transport needs an appropriate framework.’
Marc Wengler, CEO of the CFL Group
2023 was a difficult year for many customers in economic terms, especially in the context of the war in Ukraine and the consequences of the pandemic. How did these events affect the CFL Group’s turnover?
In economic terms, we are feeling the impact of these events in all areas, including freight. Compared to previous years, our turnover in the freight sector has also fallen slightly (-0.8%). However, as CFL, we are convinced that rail transport, especially innovative freight transport, will play a key role in the future. We have therefore continued to invest over the past few years. Freight transport by rail must remain attractive and requires appropriate framework conditions – I am thinking of the European directive on so-called gigaliners, which clearly favours road transport.
‘ In Europe, rail is the only way forward.’
Marc Wengler, CEO of the CFL Group
As the CFL Group, we want to position ourselves broadly and continue to provide arguments in favour of more sustainable rail transport. For example, the CFL Group has invested in ten new Traxx MS3 locomotives. They have a hybrid drive and can be used on the rail networks in Luxembourg, Germany and Poland – without the need to change locomotives at the respective borders. This saves our customers time and therefore money. Other countries will follow, enabling us to use these locomotives on north/south and west/east axes. As in the past year, we will continue to focus on establishing and expanding strategic partnerships that consolidate the role of rail in freight transport.
With this in mind, for example, a new partnership was concluded with Bertani Trasporti in 2023 – a clear sign that we are further strengthening our activities in the Eastern European market. In order to be prepared for the future, a third gantry crane was also installed at our site in Bettembourg at the end of 2022 to meet demand. Capacities that are urgently needed to be prepared for increasing freight volumes. We expect 30% more goods to be transported in Europe by 2030. An increase that cannot be handled by road alone. As the CFL Group, we see our range of harmonised products as the solution to this challenge. There is no way around rail transport in Europe.