Intermodal company Modal Group, formerly Modalis Group, has warned that an acute shortage of multimodal freight terminals is a major obstacle to a modal shift to rail in France and a threat to the competitiveness of the country’s ports. Whilst France has set itself the ambitious target of doubling the share of rail freight from 9% in 2019 to 18% by 2030, infrastructure development is struggling to keep pace.
Against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions and the necessary energy transition, rail freight transport – which is predominantly electric – is emerging as a strategic lever for the country’s sovereignty, according to the group. The accelerating electrification of the French economy makes shifting freight transport from road to rail more relevant than ever.
This not only enables a drastic reduction in CO₂ emissions but also reduces the country’s heavy reliance on imported fossil fuels, the prices of which remain highly volatile. Multimodal infrastructure, which ensures the efficient transfer of goods between road, rail, river and sea transport, is the cornerstone of this transition.
Threat to competitiveness of French ports
Despite the French Senate’s adoption at first reading at the end of April of a new framework law aimed at supporting rail freight, political intentions risk being bogged down without concrete and rapid action, the group noted. The main obstacle identified is the lack of terminals capable of consolidating freight flows and effectively connecting industrial regions to major logistics corridors. This delay directly threatens the competitiveness of France’s major ports in relation to their competitors in northern Europe, who have invested heavily in such facilities.
Dunkirk project
Among the priorities “to transform the framework law into a genuine catalyst for multimodality,” is to secure and speed up the implementation of investment programmes already planned. The group also called for the simplification of administrative procedures and for the fast-track procedures already in place for other strategic industrial sectors to be applied to terminal projects.
It highlighted the combined rail-road freight transhipment terminal under development in partnership with the Port of Dunkirk at the northern France Channel port. A joint investment of 25 million euros, it is designed to accommodate the modal shift to rail of traffic generated by ro-ro, logistics and industrial activities in the Dunkirk area.
‘Strategic infrastructure for economic sovereignty’
The construction of the terminal is due for completion this spring, with its first scheduled service to be launched in September linking Dunkirk to the French city of Lyon and Piacenza, in northern Italy. It will have the capacity to handle the transfer of up to 50,000 transport units per year from road to rail thus avoiding the emission of 70,000 tonnes of CO₂
Such terminals should be recognised as “strategic infrastructure for economic sovereignty” with “operational connection” to major rail and river corridors, including on cross-border routes with Spain and Italy, to guarantee the continuity and reliability of services. Finally, the group emphasised the need to mobilise private funding, alongside public investment, for the development of these facilities.
‘Private operators ready to invest more’
Modal Group chairman, Bernard Meï, said France has everything it needs to become a major player in carbon-free freight transport in Europe but it must now take steps to accelerate the development of its multimodal infrastructure. The real challenge, he noted, was to effectively connect ports, railways and industrial regions and to bring in financial partners to avoid falling behind the major hubs of northern Europe in terms of logistics.
“Private operators are ready to invest more in multimodal infrastructure, provided they have clarity on the regulatory framework, rules adapted to industrial realities and the duration of the investments,” he added. The Modal Group employs 260 people across eight countries and has a stock of containerised units with a capacity of 8,000 TEU and a fleet of 2,000 intermodal wagons. It generates an annual turnover of more than 115 million euros.