An innovative use of the Saint-Etienne tramway to carry goods was trialled earlier this month.
The ‘TramFret’ project aims to capitalise on the existing tram network to launch integrated cargo services in-between passengers services using recycled rolling stock.
Feedback from the experiment – which took place on June 13 – will be used to measure the project’s sustainability, its industrial development and how it can be optimised for future use.
The project was organised by research and development firm Efficacity, Saint-Etienne Métropole, and the public transport operator Société de Transports de l’Agglomération Stéphanoise.
On its website, a statement from TramFret reads: “The TramFret project, supported by Efficiency, responds to the challenges of growing energy and environmental ambitions, and of a significant growth of urban freight flows, partly fueled by the rise of e-commerce.
“The ambition of the TramFret project is to promote a decarbonised modal shift, based on the sharing of infrastructure, as well as the recycling of redundant rolling stock.”
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