The SNCF-owned multimodal transport and logistics operator Geodis has launched a multimodal service between Spain and Germany. A train will shuttle between Hendaye, on the border between Spain and France and Metz, on the border between France and Germany.

The train journey covers a distance totalling 1,100 kilometres. Once the trains arrives in the towns, Geodis will transport the goods by truck. There will be five to six trains weekly.

Retailers demand

The service has been designed for Spanish and Portuguese exporters who want to transport their products to Northern France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands and Eastern European countries, and for Spanish retailers and manufacturers who need to import from these countries. The company will use its own warehouses in Metz and Hendaye to transfer the goods between lorries and trains, minimising transit times and transport costs.

If the service has an acceptable workload, the company will make a stop in its station in Bonneuil sur Marne (Île-de-France). Geodis estimates that this service will take 11,500 trucks per year from the roads of Spain, Portugal, France and Germany, thereby notably cutting the carbon footprint of transport.

In case of strike

The company notes that it has invested 7 million Euros to customise its wagons to transport all possible goods in all sizes, volumes and forms. In addition, the company assures the continuation of the service with its 3,800 lorries (owned and contracted) if there is a rail strike or an accident.