‘Unprecedented’ removal and repair operation

The service had been operating five weekly round-trips when a train composed of 17 Modalohr-type wagons  derailed on a section of the Cherbourg-Caen rail line just 50 kilometers into its journey of almost 1,000 kilometres. Cleanup operations were described at the time by SNCF Réseau as an operation “of unprecedented scale in France” and one which mobilised a team of 100 engineers and technicians.

Major repairs of the track and rail infrastructure followed. In total, putting the line back in working order was estimated to have cost 10 million euros. Brittany Ferries introduced a backup solution during the two month hiatus in the combi service. It consisted of operating a freight-only ferry service between Poole, in south-west England and Bilbao.

Increase in frequencies

The derailment was an untimely blow to a service inaugurated as recently as July 2025. It raised fears that the company risked losing its ‘combi’ customer base and that other road hauliers would be deterred from considering a modal shift from truck to train. However, the service has resumed with six departures weekly from Cherbourg and seven from Bayonne/Mouguerre – an increase in the number of frequencies operated pre-derailment.

It covers a distance of almost 1,000 kilometers and operates five weekly return trips. Each train is currently composed of 18 Modalohr-type wagons with double pockets, allowing 36 unaccompanied trailers to be transported and loaded and unloaded using specialised horizontal handling facilities. However, capacity is expected to increase to 21 wagons (42 trailers) in 2026.

Expansion plans

Earlier this month, Brittany Ferries’ confirmed to RailFreight.com that it was looking to expand the range of goods the rail highway was transporting, one potential market being perishables shipments between Spain and the UK to stimulate. “We are counting on the fruit and vegetable export season, which runs from mid-October to the end of May, to the UK,” Fabrice Turquet, commercial director for the Iberian market at Brittany Ferries, underlined. There are also plans to handle hazardous goods, in the first instance, small quantities of cosmetics and perfumes.

In total, the six weekly round trips add up to 24,000 trucks removed from France’s roads annually. There are around 50,000 trucks that pass through the Cherbourg port each year. It also saves on 20,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. “It demonstrates how rail freight offers a credible and concrete alternative to road transport, even on domestic flows”, Captrain says.

Connecting markets

The rail highway project between Cherbourg and Bayonne was first unveiled in early 2020. After years of planning, infrastructure upgrades, and pandemic-related delays, the service is now underway. It connects France’s Atlantic corridor with key ferry ports serving the UK, Ireland and Spain.

In order to make this service a reality, France had to install two new rail-road terminals at both ends of the routes. Moreover, the Port of Cherbourg needed a renewed connection to the national network, after a 20-year hiatus.

“It’s difficult to be precise about when the launch will now take place. But in any case, we intend to test out the train path and the commercial offering with a convoy running probably in the second half of May. This will allow us to work with our partners and decide on a date for the official inauguration of the service before the summer break.”

In partnership with Modalohr

Connecting freight markets in France, the UK, Ireland and Spain, the Cherbourg-Bayonne rolling highway project was first announced in April 2022. It has entailed the construction of two combined rail-road terminals. Each train will be composed of 21 Modalohr wagons with double pockets, allowing 42 unaccompanied trailers to be transported.

However, in the first phase of operations, convoys will be limited to 18 wagons (36 trailers) as the full capacity of the Bayonne-Mouguerre terminal will not be attained until upgrade works are completed in 2026. The project has been financed by Brittany Ferries, the French state and the regions of Normandy and Nouvelle Aquitaine.

More specifically, the trial run will check viability of the route as well as the functioning of switches and the equipment deployed. The new service will see the involvement of Ports de Normandie, which manages the Cherbourg Port, Brittany Ferries, semi-trailer specialist Modalohr and the country’s infrastructure manager SNCF Réseau.

The test train ran from the port of Cherbourg to the Cherbourg-en-Cotentin in 30 minutes, running at lower speeds. The return test journey is taking place today, 11 December. Once the service is active, it will only take 10 minutes to link the two points. The test convoy was made up of 21 wagons, enabling the transport of 42 semi-trailers, for a total length of 750 metres. Initially, Cherbourg and Bayonne will be connected with three weekly roundtrips, with a plan to increase it to five.

Regular rail freight back after 20 years

Ports de Normandie and the Cherbourg Port also financed the construction of a new terminal at the port with 17.5 million euros. Another 19 million euros for the facility came from the European Commission. Moreover, the former contributed to funding the renovation of the railway with 2.4 million euros, with one additional million coming from the French state.

Regarding the next steps, Ports de Normandie specified that the last works and test runs at the new terminal will take place until 20 December. Tests along the whole 1000-kilometre line are planned for mid-March 2025, with the regular service reportedly starting by the end of that month. This new initiative will be a significant milestone for the port of Cherbourg, which has not seen regular rail freight services in almost 20 years.

The proposed service, connecting freight markets in France, the UK, Ireland and Spain, was first announced in April 2022. The plain also entailed the construction of two new dedicated combined rail-road terminals. Operating year-round, the service will offer daily departures from both Cherbourg and Bayonne-Mouguerre.

From sea to rail

Each train will be composed of 21 Modalohr wagons with double pockets, allowing 42 unaccompanied trailers to be transported. However, in the first phase of operations, convoys will be limited to 18 wagons (36 trailers) as the full capacity of the Bayonne-Mouguerre terminal will not be attained until upgrade works are completed in 2026. The initiative is financed by Brittany Ferries, the French state and the regions of Normandy and Nouvelle Aquitaine.

The executive said that since 2016 Brittany Ferries has chartered a ro-ro vessel for unaccompanied trailers between Bilbao, in northern Spain, and Poole, on the southern coast of England, operating twice-weekly round trips. “The aim of the rail service is to transfer the trailers which currently take the vessel on to trains. While you can load more trucks on ro-ro ships, they can take 48 hours for a round trip, whereas two trains can be operated during that period, therefore offering more capacity.

The EC funds for the new terminal in Mouguerre fall under EU State Aid rules and “will take the form of a direct grant covering the funding gap” for the project. Brittany Ferries was contacted for more information but no response has been given as of yet. The Commission considered this move as “necessary to encourage the development of rail freight and modal shift”. Moreover, they mentioned, this initiative is part of the French strategy to boost rail transportation of non-cranable semi-trailers, which is currently in a precarious position.

Semi-trailer transportation in France

This sector is navigating through a period of uncertainty in France, with the national rail freight company Fret SNCF forced to give up combined transport routes to avoid sanctions from the EC. Some of these routes have just been handed over, with DB Cargo France among the companies involved. This process will pose some challenges to the country’s private rail freight sector, as Solène Garcin-Berson, the new general delegate of the French Rail Association underlined in October. Some of these concerns were shared by Nicolas Chambon, general manager of Modalis, who also warned of a possible shortage of locomotives.

Also read:

• France’s Combronde expands combi hub network
• How much will the disruptions in the Alps cost for rail freight operators?
• Sharp decline in French intermodal freight in first half of 2023