Transfesa Logistics has added a new regular international rail freight connection to Dourges in France.
The logistics operator, which is headquartered in Spain, says it started this service in mid-2020 with one weekly stop in both direction. The frequency has now increased to two to three stops per week between Spain and Dourges. The connections are mixed, multi-product trains whose initial destination is France, but they also contain goods destined for other European countries.
“The incorporation of this new area of rail operations opens up a wide range of possibilities to expand our services. Dourges is a natural step towards the United Kingdom, so we now have a greater capacity to increase the traffic that currently exists with this country. As it is in one of the largest industrial areas in France, there is a great potential to introduce very diverse articles and products such as consumer goods, tanks or granulated products for the automotive sector, among others. Furthermore, from Dourges we want to reinforce refrigerated and olive oil shipments to Belgium and the Netherlands.”
Transfesa Logistics says one of the main advantages of the Dourges stop is that part of the train will be empty at this point, meaning it can reload goods to various destinations around Europe. It is also possible that larger compositions are created using units from other companies.
Currently 90 percent of the freight services originate and depart from Barcelona and Valencia. The goods transported are fruit and vegetables, oil and automotive components and tanks. Transfesa Logistics wants to use this connection for the export of a large percentage of the winter fruit and vegetable produce and achieve a volume of 40 loads of refrigerated goods per week, delivered to Belgium and the Netherlands.
As this connection becomes more established, Transfesa Logistics hopes it will grow to reach three or four regular stops per week per direction.
Transfesa Logistics says there has been interest in Dourges as a base for a connection to England. It says collaboration agreements have already been concluded and that this connection would avoid the bottlenecks lorries are suffering by having the first entry point for the train be Barking, to the east of London.
