{"id":202089,"date":"2025-04-18T18:00:34","date_gmt":"2025-04-18T08:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=61725"},"modified":"2025-04-18T18:00:34","modified_gmt":"2025-04-18T08:00:34","slug":"ports-rail-firms-and-logistics-players-collaborate-to-drive-french-rail-freight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=202089","title":{"rendered":"Ports, rail firms and logistics players collaborate to drive French rail freight"},"content":{"rendered":"

Speaking before a Senate committee last year on the state of rail freight in France, Matthieu Chabanel, the head of the country\u2019s rail infrastructure manager, SNCF R\u00e9seau, called for greater cooperation between ports, rail companies, and other logistics players to drive the sector’s future development. Railfreight.com looks at some French ports engaged in collaborative projects to promote train-borne goods flows.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Port of Cherbourg<\/h2>\n

In the case of the Port of Cherbourg, collaboration with ro-ro ferry operator Brittany Ferries, has led to the impending launch of a \u2018rolling highway\u2019 linking the Normandy port to Bayonne-Mouguerre, near the border with Spain. The service has entailed the construction of two new, dedicated combined rail-road terminals. It will operate year-round and offer several weekly departures from Cherbourg and Bayonne-Mouguerre.
\n<\/span>The service is expected to replace Brittany Ferries\u2019 ro-ro shipping service for unaccompanied trailers between Bilbao, in northern Spain, and Poole, on the southern coast of England.<\/p>\n

HAROPA Ports<\/h2>\n

Staying in Normandy, HAROPA Port, in charge of Le Havre, Rouen and Paris ports, is a prime mover in developing train-borne freight services with 100 weekly round-trips to 21 domestic and international destinations. At its request, combined road-rail freight transport operator Be Modal, a subsidiary of Lahaye Global Logistics, is mulling the launch of a service for maritime containers between Rennes, in Brittany and Le Havre, France\u2019s biggest box port, possibly in 2026.<\/p>\n

HAROPA Port\u2019s rail freight traffic totalled almost 7 million tonnes last year, an increase of 3.4 per cent on the previous year. In 2025, the overall operational target is for road share to fall to 77 per cent, with rail and river share rising to 12 per cent and 8 per cent respectively.<\/p>\n