Luxembourg, 12th June 2023 - The year 2022 was marked by growth in the three main activities of the CFL Group (freight, passengers and infrastructure) and more particularly by an increase in the number of passengers, by the strengthening of Luxembourg as a European multimodal hub thanks to the development of the offer of freight services and 364 days of work for the quality and development of the rail network.
On the financial side, the Group's turnover reached a new record at 1.073 billion euros in 2022 (+7.2% compared to 2021), exceeding the threshold of one billion euros for the second consecutive year. The Group's net income for 2022 stands at 13.0 million euros, after a record result in 2021 of 20.9 million euros. After the drop in train traffic in 2020 and 2021 due to the health crisis, the CFL are delighted with the recovery experienced in 2022 with 22 million customers (+32.5% compared to 2021).
European multimodal hub with additional capacities and now a trimodal offer
Despite a difficult economic climate and the significant rise in energy prices, the growth of activities is reflected in a 2% increase in the turnover of the CFL Fret Group at 264.4 million euros, with a result of 1.1 million euros in 2022. This very favorable development is the result of several initiatives such as the increase in the frequency of trains to Trieste (Italy) and the new intermodal links (rail/road) to Halkali (Turkey) from the Bettembourg terminal -Dudelange and between Sète in France and Poznan in Poland (2,000 km).
The commissioning in 2022 of a third crane at the Bettembourg-Dudelange terminal represents a significant investment to expand its capacities. Not only a mobility provider for industrial players in our country and in Europe, thanks to the development of intermodal transport, the CFL Freight Group also contributes to the reduction of CO₂ emissions by transferring road transport to rail (84,033 road shipments reported in 2022 for CFL multimodal).
In this respect, it is important to underline that for their contribution to the development of economic relations between Luxembourg and Spain, the CFL received the “Marquis de Villalobar Prize” in Madrid in November 2022. Awarded by the Belgian Chamber of Commerce Luxembourg in Spain, it highlights the rail motorway between Bettembourg-Dudelange and Le Boulou (French-Spanish border) operated by Lorry-Rail (34.51% owned by CFL). The latter also recorded an excellent result of 6.4 million euros in 2022 (9.0 million in 2021).
Financially, the multimodal CFL Group (combined freight) posted its best result for ten years, thanks in particular to the new connections mentioned. In this context, it is important to insist on the fact that in 2022 and this in order to offer a "trimodal" service offer (rail/road/river) departing from and arriving at the port of Mertert, the CFL have acquired a significant stake in the Luxport group, via the company Manuport. The CFL cargo Group is continuing its deployment in the field of conventional transport beyond Luxembourg, thus compensating for a reduction in activity on the domestic market, and in the maintenance of wagons and locomotives.
Adapted from the French CFL Group press release.
