News / Railfreight on Cherbourg-Caen-Paris line suspended after derailment

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Rail traffic on the Cherbourg-Caen-Paris line has been suspended until further notice, following yesterday’s derailment of a train operating on Brittany Ferries’ intermodal road-rail freight service,

The incident happened shortly after the train leaft Cherbourg on its 1,000 km journey to Bayonne-Mouguerre, in the French Basque country.

No injuries were reported and the convoy was not carrying dangerous goods.

Following the incident, just over 50 km from the Normandy port, SNCF Réseau, France’s rail infrastructure manager, suspended traffic on the Cherbourg-Caen-Paris line.

SNCF said: “Track and electrical installations have been affected. Technical teams are on site to assess the damage and the time needed for repairs.”

SNCF Réseau was approached for comment and is expected to provide an update later today.

Despite the derailment the trailers forming the train are reported to have remained more or less upright. However, the delicate removal operation could take several days.

A spokesperson for Brittany Ferries said investigations to determine the cause of the derailment were under way, and added it was too early to say how for long services would be suspended.

It operates five weekly round-trips with each train composed of 18 Modalohr-type wagons with double pockets, allowing 36 unaccompanied trailers to be transported, loaded and unloaded, using specialised horizontal handling facilities.

The suspension could lead to a build-up of trailers into Cherbourg on BF’s ferry from the UK and Ireland, but this has not been confirmed by the company.

After its launch last May and official inauguration in July, the service suffered a three-week interruption in August, due to work to extend the tracks, and electrify and upgrade the combi terminal in Bayonne-Mouguerre. Capacity is expected to increase to 21 wagons (42 trailers) in 2026.

Last autumn, BF said it was aiming to increase round trips to six to seven weekly this year, Fabrice Turquet, commercial director for the Iberian market, adding: “It’s important for us that volumes increase fairly quickly.”

Demand for freight transport on the UK-Iberian peninsula route is mainly one-way, exports travelling from south to north.

“We are counting on the fruit and vegetable export season, which runs from mid-October to the end of May, to the UK,” he stressed.

The ferry company was also finalising processes to be able to carry hazardous goods on the combi service, in the first instance, in small quantities.

“Cosmetics and perfumes fall into this category,” he said.

Marketed as a sustainable freight transport solution, the service will result in up to 30,000 fewer trucks on the road on an annual basis, and a reduction of 20,000 tonnes of CO2.

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