French tanker specialist Transports Delisle wants to build a combined rail-road freight terminal at La Ferté-Gaucher, in the southern suburbs of Paris. However, the project is currently blocked, largely because the estimated public investment to fund the re-opening of a rail line are judged to be too high.
On the other hand, the family-owned company, which entered the intermodal segment five years ago, continues to believe that it can bring the project to fruition despite the obstacles that exist. In an interview with French media, CEO Jonathan Delisle, said that over the past four years, Delisle has called for the re-opening of a line that was taken out of service some 22 years ago.
“We acquired a brownfield site in its proximity, equipped with a rail spur and were of the view that given one of the handicaps to rail freight development in the Paris region is the congestion of existing terminals and road access, it would be a good idea to build a small hub. Unfortunately, the political rhetoric (in favour of decarbonisation and sustainable transport solutions) doesn’t match the reality on the ground. It’s all about available capital and we know that local authorities and the French state are cash-strapped.”
There already is a plan
Deslisle has drawn up plans to channel a number of freight traffic flows from its customers within a radius of 50 to 100 kilometres and those of other carriers: into La Ferté-Gaucher. Train-borne loads would then be transported to the Paris-Valenton ‘combi’ terminal where they could connect to the mainline north-south rail corridors.
Delisle explained that the town council in La Ferté-Gaucher is very much in favour of the project having also recognised the scope to re-launch passenger traffic. However, the nearby town of Coulommiers is vehemently opposed, houses and blocks of flats having been built in its vicinity since the line was closed. It also considers the project to be too costly.
‘It would be cheaper than expected’
“SNCF Réseau (France’s rail network manager), which is not necessarily against the project, said it comes down to a political decision for the French Minister of Transport to make,” he added. The La Ferté-Gaucher council commissioned a study of the project which estimated the cost of re-development work for the re-opening of the line and its management at between 15 and 25 million euros, far less than the 60 million euros claimed by the project’s critics.
“We’ve succeeded in blocking the process of classifying the line as a green space, as requested by the Coulommiers council. Now it’s a matter of getting the Transport Minister to decide on re-opening the line, and obviously the political instability in the country isn’t helping.”
Combined transport currently accounts for only 1 per cent of Delisle’s global turnover but the company is determined to increase it to 5 to 10 per cent by the end of the decade. “Compared with electric or hydrogen trucks, which are unaffordable, combined road-rail transport is an avenue we’d like to explore, to a backdrop of needing to decarbonize,” Delisle concluded.