What Novatrans - Greenmodal does

Novatrans-Greenmodal is a French combined transport operator providing rail, river barge, and road transport services to road haulers, freight forwarders, and maritime shipping lines across France and Europe. Founded in 1967 (Novatrans) and 2012 (Greenmodal, formed from the merger of Railink Europe and River Shuttle Containers), the company operates three core product lines: Inland Solutions (door-to-door logistics for maritime companies and freight forwarders), Intermodal (daily consolidated hub-to-hub rail and river transport across 130 weekly connections covering 40,000 km of European rail network and 750 km of French waterways), and Terminal Services (handling, storage, maintenance, and railway services at owned and partner terminals). The company owns 1,000 wagons and 7-10 self-propelled barges, handles 670,000 ITUs and 3 million tonnes of freight annually, and operates 6,600 trains and 1,060 river voyages per year.

The business runs on a transaction-fee model charging per intermodal transport unit (container, swap body, tanker, or semi-trailer), with bespoke B2B contracts negotiated through a regional sales organization covering France, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, and beyond. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and customers access services via dedicated sales contacts, the Resa Online self-serve booking portal, or EDI integration into their transport management systems. Both Novatrans and Greenmodal are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Groupe Charles André (a large diversified French industrial conglomerate headquartered in Montélimar), with Novatrans joining in 2013 and Greenmodal in 2017. The company is co-founder of UIRR (International Union for Road-Rail Combined Transport) and operates the CESAR Online platform, which processes data on 2.3 million loading units annually across UIRR members.

The asset base — 7 owned terminals across France (Dourges 600,000 m², Miramas 495,000 m², Perpignan, Avignon, Valenton, Lyon, Bayonne, Noisy-le-Sec), partner terminals in Antwerp/Zeebrugge/Novara/Turin, and a 1,000-wagon/10-barge fleet — is supported by ISO 9001 and 14001 certifications, AEO customs status, and Authorized Candidate credentials with SNCF Réseau for direct trainpath allocation. Customer segments include maritime shipping lines requiring port-to-inland solutions, road hauliers shifting long-haul segments to rail/barge, and other combined transport operators using Novatrans terminals. Revenue is not publicly disclosed.

Name

Novatrans - Greenmodal

Legal name

CHARLES ANDRÉ

Website

https://novatrans-greenmodal.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1967

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Novatrans-Greenmodal is a French combined transport operator providing rail, river barge, and road logistics services to maritime shipping lines, road hauliers, and freight forwarders across Europe, operating 1,000 wagons, 10 barges, and 7 owned terminals handling 3 million tonnes of freight annually.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Intermodal Rail and River Transport Services

NAICS

Rail Transportation (482), Water Transportation (483), Support Activities for Water Transportation (4883)

SIC

Railroad Switching & Terminal Establishments (4013), Water Transportation (4400)

akta.pro primary industry

Intermodal Terminal Operations (Rail–Truck) (TLAJAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Intermodal Rail Forwarding (Rail-Truck / Rail-Port Drayage) (TLACADAC), Intermodal Terminal Operations (Rail Ramps/Port Intermodal Yards) (TLADAFAE), Rail Intermodal Forwarding (Container/Rail-Ramp) (TLACAEAC)

Keywords

• Intermodal rail freight
• River barge transport
• Combined transport services
• Terminal handling logistics
• Door-to-door forwarding

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Intermodal Rail Transport: Core revenue stream from daily consolidated rail freight services between major European cities and countries (Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Rotterdam, Benelux, Scandinavia, UK, Northern Italy, Germany). Novatrans operates its own wagons on both domestic and international markets, handling containers, swap bodies, tankers, and semi-trailers.
2. River Barge Transport (Greenmodal): Greenmodal Transport's daily container barge services on the Seine (Le Havre-Rouen-Gennevilliers) and the Rhône (Fos-Lyon-Mâcon). Certified 'Approved Economic Operator (OEA)' for simplified customs clearance. Covers 750 km of navigable waterways in France with 7 self-propelled barges.
3. Terminal Handling and Services: Handling, storage, maintenance, and railway services at owned terminals (Avignon, Dourges, Valenton, Lyon, Bayonne, Miramas, Noisy-le-Sec) and partner terminals. Services include unit inspection, security, ITU repairs, railway shunting, and driver reception. Also offered at partner terminals across Europe (Antwerp, Zeebrugge, Novara, Turin).
4. Inland Solutions / Green Forwarding: Door-to-door logistics solutions and transport organization for maritime shipping companies and freight forwarders. Combines rail, barge, and road transport with customs facilitation. Includes pre-routing (first mile) and post-routing (last mile) road haulage, customs simplification, and storage optimization at inland terminals.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Novatrans-Greenmodal provides combined intermodal transport services across France and Europe combining rail, river (barge), and road transport. Core products include Inland Solutions (turnkey door-to-door logistics and forwarding for maritime companies and freight forwarders), Intermodal services (daily consolidated rail and river hub-to-hub transport across a 40,000 km European network and 750 km of French waterways), and Terminal Services (handling, storage, maintenance, and railway services at owned and partner terminals).

Product overview

Novatrans-Greenmodal operates a three-product portfolio built around combined multimodal transport: Inland Solutions (door-to-door logistics and forwarding for maritime companies and freight forwarders), Intermodal (daily consolidated rail and river hub-to-hub transport for road carriers and freight forwarders), and Terminal Services (handling, storage, maintenance and railway services at owned and partner terminals). The offering is supported by digital platforms including CESAR Online for real-time booking and track&trace, greenDigital EDI for partner data exchange, and EDI for customer order integration. The company owns 1,000 wagons and operates 7-10 self-propelled barges across 6 terminals in France, with operations covering 40,000 km of European rail network connecting northern and southern Europe.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Inland Solutions (Green Forwarding) Turnkey door-to-door transport solutions for maritime companies and freight forwarders, combining pre- and post-routing by road with rail or barge for the main leg, offered with a single contact for customized logistics solutions.
• Intermodal (Rail + River Hub-to-Hub) Daily consolidated rail and river transport services across a European hub-to-hub network for road haulers and freight forwarders, combining rail and barge modes with no break in goods loading.
• Terminal Services Handling, storage, maintenance, and railway service solutions at owned and partner terminals for combined transport operators, railway companies, and shippers, including unit inspection, handling, train security, railway shunting, and ITU repairs.
• CESAR Online Platform Real-time online booking and shipment tracking platform for rail-road routes operated by Novatrans within the UIRR framework; enables booking of load units, information updates, and real-time shipment tracking across the European intermodal network.
• Rail Activity Service Loading and unloading of units — containers, swap bodies, tankers, and prehensible semi-trailers — on trains operated domestically and internationally across the Novatrans-Greenmodal network, running 6,600 trains per year.
• River Barge Activity Containerized transport by barge with five scheduled weekly departures on the Seine and two per week on the Rhône (with Saône extension to Mâcon), operated using 7 self-propelled barges; includes customized services for reefer containers and hazardous goods.

Quantifiable outcome

• 85% CO2 emission reduction compared to all-road transport
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and strong.

• TRANSFENNICA LOGISTICScoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 April 2021Partnership with TRANSFENNICA LOGISTICS for the Antwerp-Mouguerre rail corridor. Novatrans expanded to a 4th weekly rotation between Antwerp and Mouguerre starting April 19, 2021, with TRANSFENNICA LOGISTICS as the key customer driving the service expansion. This represents a core commercial partnership for international rail freight between Belgium and southern France.
• UIRR (International Union of Rail-Road Combined Transport Companies)strongStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1967Novatrans is a co-founder of UIRR, the International Union of Rail-Road Combined Transport Companies, established in 1967. UIRR processes data on 2.3 million loading units annually, representing two-thirds of total UIRR company volumes. Novatrans actively participates in big data development for combined transport within the UIRR ecosystem to ensure continuity, quality, and relevance of data exchanged between operators and terminals.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kombiverkehr: German combined transport operator and fellow UIRR member offering intermodal rail-road services across Europe with terminal network coverage; directly comparable to Novatrans-Greenmodal in serving road hauliers and forwarders with rail-truck intermodal solutions and similar European corridor reach.
• CFT (Compagnie Fluviale de Transport): Leading French inland waterway transport operator (part of the Sogestran group), running barge services on the Seine, Rhône and other French waterways that overlap directly with Greenmodal's river transport activities; the most direct head-to-head competitor for Greenmodal's barge business on shared waterways.
• Hupac: Switzerland-headquartered intermodal operator running Europe's largest combined transport network (rail and road) with owned terminal infrastructure across the Continent; nearly identical business model to Novatrans-Greenmodal, serving road hauliers and freight forwarders with hub-to-hub and door-to-door intermodal services and a UIRR presence.
• IFB (Intermodal Freight Benelux): Benelux-headquartered intermodal operator providing rail-road combined transport services across the Netherlands, Belgium and into France/Germany; competes directly with Novatrans-Greenmodal on Antwerp/Rotterdam-Dourges and Zeebrugge corridors and is a fellow UIRR-affiliated intermodal player.

Broad incumbents

• DB Cargo: Deutsche Bahn's rail freight subsidiary and Europe's largest rail freight operator, providing broad intermodal and conventional rail freight services across the Continent; overlaps significantly with Novatrans-Greenmodal's intermodal offering but operates at much greater scale and as a multi-modal incumbent rather than a specialized combined-transport player.

Regional players

• Rail Cargo Group: Austrian rail freight operator providing combined intermodal and wagonload services across Austria, Central and Southeastern Europe; structurally similar to Novatrans-Greenmodal in operating its own trains and terminals, but centered on Austria and CEE rather than France.
• Sogestran: French inland waterway and logistics group (parent of CFT and other barge operators) running river container transport on the Seine, Rhône and other French waterways; directly comparable to Greenmodal on French river container corridors and a domestic competitor for barge volumes between Le Havre, Rouen, Gennevilliers, Fos and Lyon.
• BLS Cargo: Swiss rail freight operator running cross-Alpine intermodal and block-train services between Northern European ports and Italy via Switzerland; comparable to Novatrans-Greenmodal's international rail corridors (especially Italy/Antwerp links) but focused on Switzerland and the Alpine corridor.
• Cemat: Italian intermodal operator offering rail-road combined transport services centred on northern Italy; connected to the same European combined-transport corridors (Novara, Turin) where Novatrans-Greenmodal offers partner-terminal service, making it both an intermodal peer and a downstream partner in the network.

Emerging players

• Froid Combi: French refrigerated intermodal operator combining rail and road transport for temperature-controlled goods; niche player in French combined transport with partial overlap to Novatrans-Greenmodal's intermodal service for reefer and specialized units (containers, swap bodies, tankers, semi-trailers).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/novatrans

Compliance9 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Novatrans - Greenmodal