Category: combined transport

Open Modal commission state-of-the-art combi terminal near Marseille

France’s Open Modal Group has announced the commissioning of a state-of-the-art intermodal terminal for swap bodies and containers in Miramas, on the outskirts of Marseille. The terminal has attracted public and private investment estimated at almost 40 million euros. “The Terminal Ouest Provence (TOP Terminal) is the fruit of five years of hard work, commented…

ERFA: “EU’s Greening Freight Package lacks a coherent strategy”

The EU’s Greening Freight Package is the bloc’s flagship policy package for decarbonisation in the transport sector. It looks to decrease emissions in European transport by 90 per cent in 2050. However, the package is not all sunshine and rainbows. Many disagreements about its content remain and the future of the package depends on the…

French shippers say rail freight improves but remains ‘very inadequate’

The findings of the latest annual study by the Association des Utilisateurs de Transport de Fret (AUTF) on how French shippers view the service offerings of the rail freight and combined transport sectors confirm an improvement in the general level of satisfaction but one which remains “very inadequate.” Based on feedback collected last year from…

Five French road hauliers to drive modal shift to rail in Western France

Several road haulage and logistics operators in Western France’s Pays de la Loire region have joined forces to drive a modal shift to rail and create a combined transport terminal in the coming years. Ageneau Group, Transports Thébault, TC-Transports, Immo-Ouest Groupe OPAL and Combronde, together with public sector support from the Maine-et-Loire Chamber of Commerce…

Spain allocates 468 millions for the Algeciras-Zaragoza rolling highway

Spain is allocating 468 million euros to carry out necessary upgrades along the future rolling highway between Spain’s largest port in Algeciras and Zaragoza. In total, 43 tunnels and 131 overpasses will be expanded to accommodate combined transport traffic and the tracks will be extended in 13 stations to handle longer freight trains. The first…

New combined transport definition is still too vague, says TRAN Committee

The European Parliament Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) published a Working Document compiling a bundle of recommendations to improve the Combined Transport Directive, part of the Greening Freight Package. According to the report, the new definition of combined transport still exhales uncertainty, possibly hindering the competitiveness of this modality. The new definition of combined […]

‘EU’s combined transport definition should be more practical,’ says UIRR

In view of the Combined Transport Directive (CTD) amendment, the EU Commission proposed an alternative definition of combined transport services. In the legislators’ view, combined transport operations should include intermodal freight operations that carry out at least 40 per cent of transport without using trucks. For UIRR and the intermodal sector, the definition could be […]

Combined transport sector records five consecutive quarters of losses

Combined transport’s performance has been a tale of “a concurrent series of crises,” says industry association UIRR. The sector experienced losses for a fifth consecutive business quarter. Performance during Q4 2023 shrank by 11,1 per cent compared to the same period in 2022. At the same time, the business sentiment among professionals remained ‘slightly negative’, […]

Hupac’s 2023 performance indicates the struggles of European rail

Multiple challenges, some continuing from previous years and some appearing out of the blue, created a not-so-business-friendly environment for intermodal operator Hupac in 2023. The company saw its traffic and volumes declining across its whole network and has implemented strategic moves to tackle the harsh market conditions. In 2023, Hupac transported approximately 975,000 road consignments, […]