{"id":540765,"date":"2026-09-15T19:42:58","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T09:42:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=74305"},"modified":"2026-09-15T19:42:58","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T09:42:58","slug":"rail-traffic-buoyant-at-frances-two-biggest-container-ports-in-first-half-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=540765","title":{"rendered":"Rail traffic buoyant at France\u2019s two biggest container ports in first half-year"},"content":{"rendered":"

France\u2019s two biggest container ports, Le Havre and Marseille-Fos, posted further strong growth in rail traffic in the first half of the year. The former benefitted mostly from the expansion of existing services, while infrastructure upgrades helped boosting rail freight in the latter.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>Trains to and from Le Havre transported 78,000 TEUs, up 15.3% on the same period in 2025 , according to Haropa Port, the public authority managing the ports of Le Havre, Rouen and Paris. It compares with a slight decline (-0.3%) in river-borne traffic to 115,700 TEU.<\/p>\n

Growth in rail traffic was attributed to an increase in the weekly frequencies of a number of existing services, a spokesperson for Haropa told RailFreight.com. Two weekly round trips were added to the service between Le Havre and Tours, in centre-west France at the start of the year, taking the total number to five.<\/p>\n

Early-2026 also saw the Le Havre-Bordeaux\/Izon rail service extended to include Vierzon, in central France, with three return journeys per week for both inbound and outbound services. Since July 2026, there has also been an increase in the number of services between Le Havre and Saint-Nazaire, in the west of the country, with one weekly round trip added, taking the total to three.<\/p>\n

Last year, for the first time, Haropa Port passed the 20% threshold for the share of its traffic handled by train and barge, one of the objectives set in its 2020-2025 strategic plan. This was largely due to an 18% leap in rail freight, volumes attaining the record figure of 145,000 TEU.<\/p>\n