The SNCF is aiming to transport 500,000 road-going trucks by rail and save 500,000 tonnes of CO2 a year in the process. It's all part of our plans to promote train travel and to save the planet.

Big aims! The Grenelle environmental consultation set targets for rail and river transport in France - 17.5% of freight by 2012 and 25% by 2022. There's a long way to go yet, though! The figures fell from 42% in 1984 down to only 14% in 2007. The French government is investing €7 billion in the project, and the SNCF is getting stuck in to ensure it happens.

It is possible! The first two rolling highways are up and running and are showing the way. The Luxembourg-Perpignan line is 1000km, a distance covered in 14hrs 30min, with more than 93% punctuality (within 30 minutes). In 2009, it took 17,000 trucks off the road, and this will rise to 31,000 'piggy-backing' lorries in 2010. The "Alpine rail highway" crosses the mountains between Aiton and Orbassano, and carried 22,000 trailers in 2009. That's a breath of fresh air for mountain-dwellers the environment!

Taking it further... From 2013 onwards, the Alpine rail highway will be extended towards Lyon and the SNCF aims to connect it up with the Luxembourg- Perpignan route, bringing freight traffic on a "virtuous loop" down from the North Sea ports all the way to Spain. Two further routes are currently being studied - Lille-Turin for 2012 and Lille-Paris-Bayonne for 2013. The aim is for these 4 routes to carry 500,000 trucks a year by 2020, with more than 50 services every day.

Calling all freight transport companies... You can send cross-border loads on Sundays, use your existing trucks (no extra investment costs), avoid road traffic jams and delays and reduce your CO2 emissions by 80%! Let's get those "rail highways" rolling now!