The launch of a rolling highway service in France between the port of Cherbourg, in the north, and Bayonne-Moguerre in the southwest, is one step closer to reality. The first pilot train running between the port and the Cherbourg-en-Cotentin station ran on 10 December, with a full opening scheduled for spring next year.
The test train ran a very short distance, as the port and the Cherbourg-en-Cotentin are just a few kilometres apart. “The aim of this trip is to check that the infrastructure, signalling and multimodal terminal at the port of Cherbourg are working properly”, Ports de Normandie underlined.
More specifically, the trial run will check viability of the route as well as the functioning of switches and the equipment deployed. The new service will see the involvement of Ports de Normandie, which manages the Cherbourg Port, Brittany Ferries, semi-trailer specialist Modalohr and the country’s infrastructure manager SNCF Réseau.
The test train ran from the port of Cherbourg to the Cherbourg-en-Cotentin in 30 minutes, running at lower speeds. The return test journey is taking place today, 11 December. Once the service is active, it will only take 10 minutes to link the two points. The test convoy was made up of 21 wagons, enabling the transport of 42 semi-trailers, for a total length of 750 metres. Initially, Cherbourg and Bayonne will be connected with three weekly roundtrips, with a plan to increase it to five.
Regular rail freight back after 20 years
Ports de Normandie and the Cherbourg Port also financed the construction of a new terminal at the port with 17.5 million euros. Another 19 million euros for the facility came from the European Commission. Moreover, the former contributed to funding the renovation of the railway with 2.4 million euros, with one additional million coming from the French state.
Regarding the next steps, Ports de Normandie specified that the last works and test runs at the new terminal will take place until 20 December. Tests along the whole 1000-kilometre line are planned for mid-March 2025, with the regular service reportedly starting by the end of that month. This new initiative will be a significant milestone for the port of Cherbourg, which has not seen regular rail freight services in almost 20 years.