Voies navigables de France
Voies navigables de France (VNF) is the state waterway administration in France . It was founded in 1991 and has the task of developing, maintaining and operating the navigable inland waterways . VNF has around 5000 employees and its headquarters are in Béthune . It is subordinate to the Ministry of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and Spatial Planning ( Ministère de l'Écologie, de l'Énergie, du Développement durable et de l'Aménagement du territoire ).
Waterways
France has navigable waterways totaling 8,500 kilometers. VNF itself manages 6,700 kilometers, the rest has been outsourced to regional organizations. The main route network covers 4100 kilometers, of which 2000 kilometers are designed for inland vessels with more than 650 tons of loading capacity (grand gabarit). These are located in the following areas:
The remaining waterways are only dimensioned for penichen (petit gabarit).
Cargo shipping
In 2007, cargo shipping on France's waterways carried goods with a total weight of 61.7 million tons. If the distance is included in the statistics, the result is a value of 7.54 billion ton-kilometers. Over the last 10 years this means an increase of 33 percent. Due to the favorable development of transport costs and the lower environmental impact compared to transport by rail and road, a further increase in freight volume is to be expected.
Passenger shipping
Today passenger shipping is only important in the context of tourism . The waterways of the secondary water network are often used, which also means an economic boost for the neighboring communities, which are often not very well developed in terms of tourism. In 2007 the following transport services were provided:
- 160,000 passengers on rented houseboats
- 10.3 million passengers on excursion boats
- 25,000 passengers on hotel ships
- 136,000 passengers on river cruise ships .
Major projects
The Canal Seine-Nord Europe (CSNE) is the project of a new 106 km long canal in a south-north direction through northern France between the catchment areas of the rivers Seine and Scheldt . Ships up to category Vb ( push convoy with two barges) should be able to navigate the new inland waterway. The project is included in the transport route plan of the European Union . Since the financing could not be secured, the realization of the project was postponed for the time being. A new financing agreement has been in place since October 2017. The specific commissioning date has not yet been clarified.
Maintenance and repair
Smaller sections of the sewer also need regular maintenance. This can lead to complete emptying! This is officially announced, but private boat owners must pursue this independently.
See also
swell
- VNF-repères: Chiffres clés, Edition 2008
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from October 26, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Web links
- VNF official website (French)