French multi-modal logistics company Combronde recently launched a east-west rail freight service between Arles, in southeast France and Bordeaux, in the southwest of the country.
It initially offers three return trips each week for swap bodies (palletised or bulk products) and maritime containers, filling a gap in the market for a multi-modal offering on the cross-country route.
The service follows the opening of Combronde’s Arles terminal in September this year which saw the launch of a five-times weekly return service to Lille operated by FroidCombi, which specialises in the shipment of fresh and frozen produce between southern and northern France.
Congestion
In an interview with RailFreight.com, FroidCombi’s president and CEO, Rémy Crochet explained that the choice of Arles as the departure point of the new service had been a direct result of growing volumes of traffic at the nearby Avignon terminal which had left it completely congested.
The new 6.5-hectare Arles terminal is equipped with four railway tracks that can handle two 750 metre-long trains simultaneously.
“After two months operation, the Arles terminal is already handling 16 trains per week (10 from FroidCombi and 6 from Combronde), representing a capacity of around 770 ITUs per week, which is not negligible capacity,” said Combronde’s CEO, Jean-Philippe Delmont, in a French media interview.
“We did not seek out volumes from other rail operators but from road haulage. Our offer is aimed at shippers who transport palletised products, mass market players, as well as freight forwarders and shipping companies.”
Network expansion
Delmont went on to explain that the group had gradually expanded its network of ‘combi’ hubs from its main one in Clermont-Ferrand with openings in Saint-Étienne, Vierzon, Loire-sur-Rhône, Vergèze and Bordeaux. The network is designed to support and continue the development of rail and river transport services to France’s major box ports, Le Havre and Marseille-Fos.
Today, the group operates more than 2,200 trains per year, with the capacity to transfer over 100,000 trucks per year to rail, Delmont added.