“The synergy between the two partners transforms Valenton into a genuine logistics hub by synchronising train paths and streamlining the movement of goods, thus increasing train capacity for freight operators”, the statement noted. At the Valenton terminal, BTM and Combirail (Open Modal’s rail company) manage and coordinate handling and shunting operations to connect the T3M and Be Modal trains arriving from Lille, Rennes and Lyon. Both Open Modal and Be Modal acknowledged the support of French rail infrastructure manager, SNCF Réseau, in the development of the Valenton terminal.

Growth trajectory

Last month, Open Modal, whose activities span the entire combined transport chain, launched a new domestic route on its north-south Mediterranean corridor running from Lille to Miramas, near Marseille, via Bonneuil in the southeastern suburbs of Paris. Its 2025 turnover totalled 144 million euros and it employs 380 staff.

Be Modal is part of the Brittany-based Lahaye Global Logistics group, which previously disclosed to RailFreight.com that the subsidiary could launch a service for maritime containers between Rennes and France’s biggest box port, Le Havre, this year. It has a fleet of multi-purpose wagons, which are suitable for all types of containers and swap bodies, including self-contained refrigerated swap bodies. Be Modal has the capacity to operate more than of 800 trains per year, representing 17,000 UTI units or 34,000 TEUs.

‘Meeting market’s growing needs’

Open Modal’s director of Development, Jeanne Brunier, said the launch of the new service was part of the group’s strategy to consolidate its rail network between France’s major logistics hubs. “We are strengthening our combined rail-road transport offering to meet the market’s growing needs in terms of capacity, decarbonisation and energy efficiency. We are supporting market momentum by offering solutions that are ever more reliable, efficient and tailored to today’s logistics challenges.”

Three locomotives

Open Modal’s multimodal director, Anthony Cherubini, said the group was running 750-metre trains with a capacity of 48 ITUs (intermodal transport units), equivalent to 45-foot containers. “To ensure the highest possible level of service, we have a dedicated locomotive and a back-up locomotive for the phase with three weekly services. Ultimately, three locomotives will be assigned to this service to ensure greater reliability,” he explained.

The group has several subsidiary companies: TAB Rail Road (road haulage), T3M (combined transport operator), BTM (multimodal terminal operator) and rail company Combirail. Open Modal, which employs 380 staff, generated a turnover of 144 million euros last year.

Brunier also noted the “considerable uncertainty” caused by political instability in France. “Without visibility with regard to the state budget, it is difficult for us to plan ahead as a company. With the government looking to make savings, there is a real question mark as to how it will be able to maintain its support for the sector. The quality of the rail network remains an issue too.”

New state-of-the-art terminal

Nevertheless, combined transport is gaining momentum in France with new operators and shippers entering the market, she added. The groups short-term focus is on increasing services between eastern and northern France – Nancy, Lille and Paris-Bonneuil – and the south-east of the country, by early 2026.

It follows the opening in April last year of the Terminal Ouest Provence, a multi-user, state-of-the-art intermodal terminal for swap bodies and containers in Miramas, on the outskirts of Marseille. “We are now in a position to comfortably handle an increased volume of traffic at the terminal.”

International expansion

Open Modal is also planning to consolidate its Italian route which resumed in the spring when the railway line re-opened (following its closure for a period of 19 months due to a major rockfall, Brunier explained. But the ramp-up, with an increase in round trips, has been hampered by a few unforeseen challenges related to weather conditions on the line.

International expansion also focuses on forging a strategic partnership in Eastern Europe. Open Modal, is understood to be in exclusive negotiations with SNCF Réseau to acquire and modernise an existing road-rail combined transport terminal located at Fenouillet, in proximity to Toulouse. The group’s activities span the entire combined transport chain, through several subsidiary companies: TAB Rail Road (road haulage), T3M (combined transport operator), BTM (multimodal terminal operator) and rail company Combirail.

Heavily subsidised initiative

With a similar project, Open Modal recently commissioned a multi-user, state-of-the-art intermodal hub for swap bodies and containers in Miramas, on the outskirts of Marseille. And like the Miramas terminal, investment is estimated at approximately 40 million euros and is expected to be heavily subsidised, at around 70 per cent. The prospective sources would be the Occitanie public regional authority, in south-west France, the French State, the European Union and the Toulouse metropolitan council. At Fenouillet, Open Modal will team up with a specialist property developer, as it did for the Miramas terminal.

Combined transport at the centre

This strategy of acquiring previously leased terminals gives Open Modal control of the entire combined transport chain, through several subsidiary companies: TAB Rail Road (road haulage), T3M (combined transport operator), BTM (multimodal terminal operator) and Combirail, a rail company with a fleet of 12 locomotives. The integrated terminals it is developing are open to other combined transport operators.

“We need to modernise the existing road/rail terminals, which are almost 50 years old. Their facilities are obsolete and the gantries are not productive,” Brunier said. With SNCF Réseau already having great difficulty in maintaining its rail network, these ‘combi’ terminals ‘are the only operational solution for decarbonising long-distance overland transport if France is to meet its objectives of tripling combined transport and doubling rail freight by 2030, he observed.

A difficult 2023 for Open Modal

Along with other operators, 2023 was a challenging year for Open Modal with the closure of the France-Italy rail line via Modane, a spate of strikes at SNCF against pension reform and the surge in electricity prices. The group lost around 6 million euros in 2023 from a turnover of 84 million euros, compared to (a turnover) of 98 million euros in 2022.

Fortunately, the financial years during COVID, which saw the group benefit from the severe downturn in road haulage activity, and post-COVID were profitable, Brunier added. Open Modal, which is eyeing a turnover of 100 million euros in 2024, claims to account for one-third of the French market for road-rail general cargo.