The German intermodal specialist CargoBeamer is expanding its Calais-Perpignan semi-trailer service. The company notes rapidly growing demand after a period of stability and predictability on the railways.
CargoBeamer originally only ran two weekly round-trips on the French north-south corridor. In 2025, it did 4 round-trips. A fifth roundtrip was added in April 2026. In the coming month, CargoBeamer will add yet another.
“With the addition of the sixth departure, the service will offer daily departures in both directions from Monday to Saturday, making it one of the key intermodal offerings for semi-trailers on the north–south corridor within France”, CargoBeamer writes.
The intermodal specialist adds that the frequency increase reflects growing market demand for intermodal semi-trailer transportation on the route. Within six to eight months, CargoBeamer has seen a 40% demand increase, the company tells RailFreight.com. This growth has exceeded expectations.
CargoBeamer believes that the demand growth has to do with a period of stability and predictability following earlier disruptions, such as strikes. Those impact the perception of rail. Now that the market has caught on to rail’s renewed stability, freight is returning. Increased reliability, fewer delays and fewer cancellations are at the heart of the intermodal growth.
Craneable and non-craneable semi-trailers
“We are very pleased with the sustainable growth we are seeing on the Calais – Perpignan route and have established CargoBeamer as one of the leading intermodal operators for semi-trailers and containers in France”, commented Boris Timm, COO of CargoBeamer.
“This expansion to six weekly roundtrips further strengthens our position in France. The corridor’s reach from the Spanish border to the Channel and beyond gives it an important role in our network, and we look to further expand our network in France in the future.”
Running between the CargoBeamer-Terminal in Calais and Perpignan Saint Charles Conteneur Terminal, the connection is capable of handling craneable and non-craneable semi-trailers, refrigerated units, ADR and tank trailers, and containers with a transit time of 28 hours. CargoBeamer highlights that the service significantly reduces carbon emissions by about 93% per transported unit, which translates to a saving of more than 1,100 kilograms of carbon dioxide compared to conventional diesel road transport.