The transport sector is one of the main contributors to climate change, with its high CO2 emissions. Only rail transport can claim to have a reduced environmental footprint.

However, rail freight, somewhat asleep on its "CO2" laurels, has never really highlighted its other environmental and societal assets.

For example, the Grenelle Environment Forum in 2007 prompted the SNCF to set up a vast plan for "a new ecological transport of goods", but this was limited to highlighting the CO2 benefits.

However, rail 's environmental outperformance is at least as interesting in terms of fine particle emissions, accident risks and traffic congestion. It should be given greater prominence. A report by the French Senate puts the cost of particulate pollution alone at over 100 billion euros a year for the French state, while the World Health Organization puts the cost of illnesses and premature deaths linked to air pollution in Europe at 1469 billion euros.

What's more, rail's CO2 advantage will continue to diminish as other modes make progress in reducing their own emissions. Its other ecological advantages must now be exploited to the full.

The eco-environmental performance of the supply chain depends onlogistics organization, the quality of materials and equipment, and the level of training of personnel. It is by accurately quantifying the societal cost of transport externalities that the financing for its modernization will be found, of which rail freight could be one of the great winners.