Having been dogged by a series of delays, the commercial launch of Brittany Ferries’ rolling highway service is finally poised to take place next week. It will operate from the Normandy port of Cherbourg and Bayonne-Mouguerre, in the French Basque Country and connect freight markets in France, the UK, Ireland and Spain.
“Recent technical tests have proved successful and we have been given the go-ahead to commence the service on 19 May,” a senior company official told Railfreight.com. No further information was disclosed. Under initial plans, the 900km-long route is to begin with a schedule of three weekly round-trips, rising to five after the ‘launch phase but this has not been confirmed.
Rail back at Cherbourg port after two decades
The project has entailed the construction of two combined rail-road terminals as well as work to link the Port of Cherbourg to France’s national rail network. This has involved the upgrade of a 2.5-kilometre section of track with the installation of additional points for access to the port and the renewal of sleepers and ballast. Brittany Ferries has received financial support from the (French) state, the European Union and the regional public authorities of Normandy and Nouvelle Aquitaine to launch the service.
Each train will be composed of 21 Modalohr-type wagons with double pockets, allowing 42 unaccompanied trailers to be transported and loaded and unloaded using specialised horizontal handling facilities. However, in the first phase of operations, convoys are expected to be limited to 18 wagons (36 trailers) as the full capacity of the Bayonne-Mouguerre terminal will not be attained until upgrade works are completed in 2026.
The service is marketed as a sustainable freight transport solution, taking up to 30,000 trucks off the road on an annual basis, resulting in a reduction of 20,000 tonnes of CO2. The launch of the rolling highway service will be a significant milestone for the port of Cherbourg, which has not seen regular rail freight services for around 20 years. Toyota cars were transited by ro-ro carrier from the UK to Cherbourg before being transferred onto trains for distribution in Europe.