“Let’s lead by example,” the organization is getting on the train to reduce (a little) its carbon impact

“We want to prove that a major sporting event, like all companies, can also try to reduce its carbon impact,” said Jacques Rivoul, president of France 2023 in charge of organizing the tournament. Rugby World Cup in FranceThe press conference dedicated to began Mobility transportation during the World Cup. To achieve this goal, several measures have been taken, in particular with SNCF, the official sponsor and partner of the Rugby World Cup France 2023 since September 2020.

80% of train trips for participating teams

This competition is expected to receive 600,000 foreign visitors, and the National Railway Company (SNCF) will provide most of the transportation, both for fans and teams. “Two goals: the first is to do 80% of the teams’ transmission with SNCF and the second is for viewers, to increase the percentage to 88%,” Jacques Rivoile aims. To do this, it was necessary to carefully select the teams’ base camps, to ensure optimal transportation between the base camp and the stadiums where the competition would take place.

The best example is Ireland who will be based in Tours and will play two matches in Saint-Denis, a match in Nantes and a match in Bordeaux. All insured by the SNCF. “Concludes the President of France 2023. The equipment will be transported by Geodis, thanks to its low-carbon emission bus. The spectators will have the SNCF company Keolis, which will be able to cover the last kilometers between the station and the stadium with their buses and coaches.

“We have set the rule for this tournament that if the team’s door-to-door journey is less than 5.5 hours, it will necessarily be by train and bus. We know that thanks to this we have succeeded in implementing more than 70 rail journeys to reduce our impact by 50%. » explains Michel Bossau , director of the RWC 2023 World Rugby Championships. He returns to team travel, adding: “Ireland in the group stage will use the train exclusively. Uruguay, when they come to play in Lille and meet the French team, they leave from Avignon and make the whole journey by train. The All Blacks come from Lyon on a train Commercial High Speed. »

The arrival of Ian Foster’s men on Wednesday was also part of the guided tour given to the media. Savea’s teammates traveled in a private cabin, which other passengers could not access, even if players could leave their reserved space and order a small menu from the bar cart located among the other passengers. When they leave the TGV, the pre-determined route should allow teams to reach their bus quickly, without being attacked by crowds. That will be the case for the Blues when they travel to Lille on September 12.

Blues are expected at Lille Flanders station

Almost a year later The so-called sand yacht controversy This match, provoked by Christophe Gatellier’s Paris Saint-Germain, will be an opportunity to prove that we can release vaguely known athletes into the middle of the public space without risking riots and compromising the safety of athletes. Even if that were the limit of comparison, we know very few Frenchmen who would be able to recognize the New Zealand international in passing, regardless of size and kit/

Michel Bossau concludes by stating his wish: “This game of rugby sets an example, this is truly our ambition, and low carbon mobility is one of the many legacies of the Rugby World Cup in 2023.” Therefore, fans will also have the right to a special service: for example, SNCF has planned additional trains late on Friday evening from Austerlitz station to allow fans from the Loiret to return home after the match.

R.C.