“The rail link offers our port major opportunities for growth”
The Port of Sète’s inaugurated its new multimodal terminal at the end of 2025. Operated by VIIA, a Rail Logistics Europe subsidiary, it’s the first French Mediterranean port to use Modalohr horizontal loading technology, which means no cranes are needed to handle semi-trailers. The port is owned by France’s Occitanie region, and these long-term investments reflect ambitious development goals. We spoke with Olivier Carmes, the site’s General Manager about these advances.
How has the rail link boosted your business?
Rail motorways are a major contributor to rail competitiveness. By expanding our multimodal terminal to load three trains simultaneously – up from just one – we have made operations far more efficient. Modalohr technology now allows us to load all types of trailers horizontally onto pivoting wagons. As a result, we’ve already doubled service frequency on the Sète–Calais rail motorway. We aim to reach full capacity at the new terminal – handling 60,000 trailers a year – within five years.
When combined effectively with maritime transport, rail unlocks major growth opportunities, such as door-to-door sea–rail solutions. Danish operator DFDS Seaways chose this approach for freight forwarding between Turkey and the Paris region. Between 2015 and 2025, the company’s operations via our port led to the creation of 300 direct jobs.
Is rail–river transport also an attractive option?
These two mass transport modes are complementary. For bulk goods, inland waterway transport offers speed and flexibility, while rail is best suited to scheduled flows of trailers and containers. Cement producer Cem’In’Eu is an excellent example: it imports clinker1 from Mediterranean countries via the Port of Sète, then supplies its cement plants using scheduled night trains to Tonneins and Portes-lès-Valence. Depending on the cargo, inland waterway transport supplements this system. This sustainable logistics model enables end-to-end transport that avoids roads entirely. By 2030, we aim to shift 20% of our traffic from road to rail and waterways – double today’s share.
That requires long-term investment...
When we sign this type of contract with an operator like VIIA, it’s typically for 25 years, which naturally carries risk. Our priority is to offer long-term reliability with sufficient visibility on rail paths. Of course, we understand that the network infrastructure requires maintenance, which involves trade-offs – upgrades inevitably affect some services. But prolonged disruptions, lasting three to six months, are not an option. If that happened, operators would find other solutions and it would be extremely difficult to win back their trust and return flows to rail.
We have received substantial support from the Region, the French State and the European Union. Altogether, €650 million has been invested in the port – mainly in platforms, equipment and maintenance facilities for operators – along with a further €20 million dedicated to developing our multimodal terminal.