The service began in mid-2020 with a weekly service to and from Spain, but nowadays two to three trains stop in the French city, which is located in one of the largest industrial areas in the country. The service is used to transport fruit and vegetables, oil, as well as automotive components and tanks.
One of the main advantages of stopping in France is that part of the train is empty at this point, so it can be used to reload goods to various destinations in Europe, Transfesa explains. Likewise, there is the possibility of forming larger compositions with units from other companies that join those of Transfesa Logistics.
Link to the UK
According to Pablo García, traffic implementation project manager at Transfesa Logistics, the incorporation of this new area of rail operations opens up a wide range of possibilities to expand services. "Dourges is a natural step towards the UK, so we now have a greater capacity to increase the traffic that currently exists with this country.
In fact, merchandise can be transported between the north of France and the UK, which has aroused the interest of many companies from different sectors. Collaboration agreements have already been concluded in this regard. This connection avoids the bottlenecks that trucks suffer daily, since the first authorised point of entry for the train is Barking, east of London, says the company.
Departure points
Currently, 90 per cent of the trains depart from Barcelona and Valencia. The routes are used to transport fruit and vegetables, oil, as well as automotive components and tanks. The company’s goal is to use this connection for the export of a large part of the winter fruit and vegetable product and to reach a volume of 40 weekly loads of refrigerated goods to deliver in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Likewise, about 10 tanks are being transported weekly, thus diversifying the type of products that are transported. It is estimated that in the next phases operations will be expanded until reaching a regularity of 3 or 4 stops a week in both directions.
