Port of Sète slated to become multimodal hub
Upgrades to the rail hub operated by VIIA at Sète got under way on 16 January 2025. All-new horizontal transfer technology will revolutionize transshipments, with VIIA planning to move 40,000 trailers a year by rail.
Future rail terminal takes shape
A key stage in upgrades to the existing rail terminal at the Port of Sète got under way on 16 January 2025, led by VIIA. The project aims to transform cargo transshipment with a new horizontal transfer system that slides trailers onto wagons instead of lifting them with cranes. Result? A significant reduction in turnarounds between sea and rail transport.
Now being introduced, HTT should make it possible to carry all types of semi-trailers to destinations in the rest of Europe. Works are scheduled for completion by summer 2025.
40,000
trailers carried by rail each year is the long-term goal
€10.1m
invested in horizontal transfer tech by VIIA
€3m
funded by the French State
RLE’s investment demonstrates our belief in and support for the market’s modal shift to rail—along with our commitment to offering customers flexible solutions that adapt to road hauliers’ needs.
President, VIIA
Sète-Calais—strategic transport
The Port of Sète is a key node in trade flows between Turkey and Europe, and is expanding alongside “sea motorways” pick up pace. Rail freight is a natural partner. In 2024, over 130,000 intermodal transport units moved through the port, offering Turkish shippers a fast, competitive maritime alternative to overland transport.
Reflecting this, the French State zeroed in on the Sète-Calais rail connection in rolling out its stimulus plan expanding rail motorways. Today there are 3 round trips per week between the two ports, carrying 15,000 units a year.
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