Ports and railways in France need to increase their cooperative efforts to increase the share of rail freight, according to Matthieu Chabanel, the head of France’s rail network manager, SNCF Réseau. Addressing a Senate committee recently on the state of the sector, Chabanel took the example of Calais where a major project is attracting public investment totalling 83 million euros.

The project is divided into two phases: the first entails the modernisation of the existing rail infrastructure, while the second focusses on the creation of a new line in the port area to enable the development of combined transport. Providing an update on the first phase of the project, a spokesperson told Railfreight.com that a bridge was replaced in October last year and the railway line was renovated. Work is currently underway on the erection of acoustic screens to limit noise levels in residential and urban areas, which will be completed in the summer of 2025.

Detailed studies are now underway for Phase 2, the route of the new line having been chosen this Spring. However, no information has been disclosed on when construction work is due to start nor the timeframe for its completion, only that it will offer the possibility to triple rail freight traffic from three to four trains daily today to up to 15 round-trip trains daily by 2040.

Not only Calais

SNCF Réseau is also working with the Port of Marseille on a project attracting public investment of almost 60 million euros and encompassing urban development and the creation of new terminals, in Marseille and Miramas, to develop combined transport.

Another example of collaboration is with the Port of Cherbourg and Brittany Ferries on the creation of a rail motorway between Cherbourg and the Basque country, which should be launched next year, Chabanel noted. “I’m a great believer in rail motorways”, he continued, highlighting the trains operating between Perpignan and Luxembourg or Calais which cover distances of approximately 1,000 kilometers. “These rail motorways represent a significant proportion of goods traffic in France and which are proving very popular with road hauliers.”

SNCF Réseau is also driving the development of new ‘inland’ rail infrastructure to facilitate the growth of freight traffic, such as the bypass around the Lyon conurbation. “Today, all rail freight coming up from the Rhône Valley or Spain passes through the middle of Lyon’s main Part-Dieu railway station, one of the busiest in France,” Chabanel observed.

“The project to bypass the Lyon conurbation by rail is therefore of crucial importance. We have submitted an application to the European Commission, with the support of local and other public authorities, to finance the preliminary studies for the northern section (of this rail bypass).” In the meantime, one near-term project is the development of combined transport hub at Vénissieux, in the suburbs of Lyon.