{"id":548973,"date":"2026-09-23T19:13:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T09:13:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=74492"},"modified":"2026-09-23T19:13:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T09:13:15","slug":"abandoned-project-for-terminal-in-france-might-be-revived-after-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=548973","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Abandoned\u2019 project for terminal in France might be revived after all"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week, RailFreight.com reported that a major project to drive the modal shift, with the creation of a combined transport terminal in Tr\u00e9laz\u00e9, near Angers, had been abandoned. Attention is now focused on an alternative location for the intermodal facility in western France, according to a source close to the matter.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>The leader of the Angers Loire Metropolitan Council, Christophe B\u00e9chu, described the project as \u201cunsustainable<\/a>\u201d due to the high level of investment required for its development. Levelling the proposed site for the terminal and connecting it to the rail network was estimated at approximately \u20ac50 million, he said.<\/p>\n

Secondly, a residents association had raised environmental concerns, which focused on the volume of freight traffic the terminal would have generated \u2013 100 to 150 HGVs per day and 20 trains weekly. The project had been officially launched early-2024<\/a> by a group of road haulage and logistics operators in the Pays de la Loire region. A dedicated company, Transport Multimodal Alliances (TMA) was set up to pilot the project.<\/p>\n

Misleading media coverage<\/h2>\n

\u201cMedia coverage has perhaps been misleading, giving the impression that with the scrapping of the Tr\u00e9laz\u00e9 project, the idea of creating a \u2018combi\u2019 terminal in the region, where freight modal shift to rail is close to non-existent, has been abandoned which is far from being the case,\u201d TMA\u2019s managing director, Laurent Massin-Le Goff, told RailFreight.com in Ian interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe alternative site involves the regeneration of a former rail freight facility that has been inactive for a number of years, but which will effectively enable us to launch our first services within a manageable and achievable budget and timeframe.\u201d Massin-Le Goff would not be drawn on the alternative site\u2019s investment requirements except to say they would be much lower than at Tr\u00e9laz\u00e9.<\/p>\n

It is situated in proximity to Angers\u2019 railway station on state-owned land managed by French infrastructure manager SNCF R\u00e9seau. \u201cThe platforms and tracks are in place and the facility is connected to the rail network. There are studies which will determine what re-development work is required- perhaps lengthening the platforms and improving access- but nothing major. We see no obstacle to it emerging as a \u2018combi\u2019 terminal.<\/p>\n

One train per day<\/h2>\n

The site is smaller than the one originally envisaged andmay well handle a lower volume of freight but the priority now is toget started, He explained. \u201cWe\u2019ll still have the capacity on this site to handle one train a day which is already a massive step forward when one considers that only 1% of freight traffic in the Pays de la Loire region is accounted for by modal shift to rail !\u201d<\/p>\n

Massin-Le Goff underlined his optimism that the terminal could be operational, with the first trains, by the end of 2027. \u201cRail has never been more relevant when it comes to the decarbonisation of freight transport and even more so in the current context of the steep rise in diesel pricesWhat motivates us today is to launch a regular rail freight service in our region and this alternative site gives us the opportunity to do just that and relatively quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week, RailFreight.com reported that a major project to drive the modal shift, with the creation of a combined transport terminal in Tr\u00e9laz\u00e9, near Angers,\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[93,94,65,471,47,21178],"tags":[12634],"class_list":["post-548973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-combined-transport","category-france","category-intermodal","category-news","category-rail-news","category-trelaze","tag-railfreight"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t