 | |
| Founded | 2005 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | , France |
| Revenue | € 146 million (2018) |
Number of employees | 900 (2018) |
| Parent | DB Cargo |
| Website | fr.dbcargo.com |
DB Cargo France is a French rail freight operator. It is presently a subsidiary of the German state-owned logistics company DB Cargo.
DB Cargo France was originally established as Euro Cargo Rail (ECR) in early 2005 by the British freight company English Welsh & Scottish Railway (EWS). The company had sought to expand its footprint in the continental European rail freight market; while one of its subsidiaries, EWS International, operated the trains, ECR was responsible for marketing and trading duties. EWS's application to operate open-access freight services in France was approved in November 2005, permitting the commencement of services in May 2006. Initially, operations were focused upon France's northern region and its borderlands; however, ECR had grand ambitions to expand across Europe, filing applications to operate in both Belgium and Germany during 2006.
During June 2007, EWS and ECR were both acquired by the German state railway company Deutsche Bahn (DB). By the following year, ECR had become the second largest rail freight company in France, after the traditional market leading state-owned operator SNCF. During October 2010, ECR formed a joint venture with the Port of La Rochelle, named OFP La Rochelle; seven years later, ECR sold its stake in the venture. While early rolling stock was typically leased, or transferred from EWS, the company was quickly able to place its own sizable orders for new-build locomotives, such as the TRAXX F140 MS and the EMD Series 66, although many of these deliveries would be received by DB Cargo rather than ECR itself. During May 2017, DB invested $150 million to recapitalise and restructure the company, resulting in the loss of one quarter of its staff. In late 2021, the company was rebranded as DB Cargo France.