{"id":551516,"date":"2026-09-25T17:54:34","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T07:54:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=74540"},"modified":"2026-09-25T17:54:34","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T07:54:34","slug":"fuel-price-crisis-shippers-more-inclined-to-shift-to-rail-freight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=551516","title":{"rendered":"Fuel price crisis: \u2018Shippers more inclined to shift to rail freight\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

With fuel prices soaring and demand from shippers increasing, French Basque Country-based haulier Transports Darrieussecq is reaping the benefits of its road to rail modal shift at the start of the decade via subsidiary Bleu Modal.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>Today, Bleu Modal has an annual turnover of \u20ac2.5 million carrying out 1,000-1,200 swap body round trips, commented CEO David Darrieussecq in an interview with French trade publication, Transport Info. The current fleet consists of around 40 swap bodies with investment in an additional 10 or so planned for early-2027.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven the current price of diesel and the shortage of drivers, particularly for long-distance routes, our presence in combined transport means we are enjoying an operational advantage. Our aim is to carry 50% of our long-distance freight by rail. This enables us to retain drivers on regional routes in south-west France, in Paris and in the north of the country,\u201d Darrieussecq underlined.<\/p>\n

The CEO noted that shippers are bearing the brunt of diesel price indexation on their transport bills, applied by hauliers, and are looking into alternatives to road transport. \u201cThey are therefore more inclined to consider a shift to rail, which also helps in them meeting decarbonisation targets.\u201d<\/p>\n

The so-called Atlantic Corridor connecting south-west France, the Paris region, northern France and the Benelux is Bleu Modal\u2019s main route. It is also operating in eastern France with a local partner, Transports Vigneron. \u201cWe are also beginning to work on projects with Brittany Ferries, which operates a rolling highway between Bayonne\/Mouguerre, in the French Basque Country and Cherbourg to connect with the UK.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rail freight capacity tight<\/h2>\n

Even though Bleu Modal still has some capacity on certain routes, there is little availability, because the trains are already full and the terminals are almost at full capacity, Darrieussecq explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cShippers who made the switch to multimodal transport several years ago are not unhappy today to have capacity on trains guaranteed and the scope this offers to limit the impact of the fuel crisis. Welcoming new players requires a bit of planning in advance or even regulating traffic flows. Nevertheless, there is scope for a modal shift on certain routes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bleu Modal\u2019s long-standing clients include Leroy Merlin (DIY retail chain), St Gobain (light construction materials) and PepsiCo, who are expanding their business, and new clients interested in modal shift opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u201cOverall, the types of freight flows have remained the same as they were at the outset: raw materials, building supplies and foodstuffs travelling south-north, and finished goods, general merchandise and supermarket goods travelling north-south. We also handle waste shipments from the Paris region and Belgium.\u201d<\/p>\n

Optimistic five-year outlook<\/h2>\n

Darrieussecq went to highlight a positive trend in French rail freight transport: a return to greater regularity in services. \u201cOur Atlantic corridor route is operating rather well. There have been a few difficulties with wildfires and periods of extreme cold but these remain isolated incidents. We are still at the mercy of industrial action, even though there hasn\u2019t been any for several months. As for the ongoing works on the French rail network line, they tend to drag on and are causing delays to some train paths.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking ahead to the next five years, Darrieussecq said there were reasons to be optimistic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll have more capacity to offer on our trains, whilst the planned terminal expansions, particularly at Mouguerre [terminal], will help streamline operations. The second development is the electrification of part of our road fleet so that we can offer our customers a green solution for pre- and post- road haulage services. There is no conflict between rail and road; they are two complementary modes of transport.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With fuel prices soaring and demand from shippers increasing, French Basque Country-based haulier Transports Darrieussecq is reaping the benefits of its road to rail modal\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":[21198,72,93,94,65,471,78,47,21199],"tags":[12634],"class_list":["post-551516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bleu-modal","category-business","category-combined-transport","category-france","category-intermodal","category-news","category-rail-freight","category-rail-news","category-transports-darrieussecq","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