Three consortia have been short-listed to provide France's third "rail motorway," this time to link the Aquitaine with Nord-Pas de Calais via the southern part of the Ile de France
France's first and second autoroutes ferroviaire services – the original short Alpine crossing with restricted structure gauge linking Lyon and Torino (Aiton-Orbassano) and the long distance Perpignan-Bettembourg service – are both operated using Modalohr "horizontal" wagon technology.
Lorry-Rail, the consortium that operates Perpignan-Bettembourg (Luxembourg), is one of the consortia selected by the public authorities to develop its proposals for the Atlantic-Northeast corridor. Also selected is OptiCapital, a company set up by Philippe Mangeard, the CEO of Modalohr, and Maxime Laurent, the CEO of Arbel Fauvet Rail.
Both these proposals would retain the Modalohr wagon for the service, using the same pivoting load bed with surface ramps, so that trailers can be driven on or off by terminal tractors, or to accommodate complete road rigs for the rail trip – the latter option has become less and less popular, particularly for the Perpignan-Luxembourg service.
The third consortium in the frame is CombiOuest, which is led by Euro Cargo Rail, now part of DB Schenker following the latter's purchase of EWS (now DB Schenker Rail UK Ltd). Unlike Lorry-Rail and OptiCapital, CombiOuest wants to employ a lo-lo solution, using the latest pocket wagon introduced by Arbel Fauvet Rail in 2004. Several prototypes have been tested, notably in Novatrans' services over Lille-Dourges, but the wagon has not yet been homologated by RFF.
It is not yet clear when the final selection will be made. At this stage, the detailed project specifications have not yet been finalised by the Ministry of Transport.
The new service has to be seen in the context of the linked goals of relaunching rail freight services in France and reducing the number of truck journeys in France, on environmental grounds.
