In La Seyne, rail freight is moving to the Brégaillon quays

Even if they do not necessarily use the word decarbonization, it is indeed the process underway at the commercial port of Brégaillon that Laurence Neid, in charge of commercial development and marketing of the port at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Var, and Françoise Comte, seconded from SNCF Réseau as head of multimodal solutions, describe.

Because after several one-off experiments in transferring goods from train to sea, thanks to the rails connecting La Seyne station to the quays of the Brégaillon commercial port, a regular train has been carrying around twenty wagons once a week for the past month. These cars carry 220 to 240 cars from the Stellantis factory in Mulhouse, to then be loaded onto a ship, heading for the countries around the Mediterranean.

"This is the culmination of prospecting actions carried out by the CCI with potential customers, after three years to restore this line; first, the restoration in 2021 then the connection to the network in 2022 and finally, the reception of the first train, transporting pipes for the needs of a local construction site, in 2023" , recalls the tandem. In this case, the company Tas, specialized in the export of new vehicles, based on site, ensures the logistics of transferring the cars from the rail to the boat, while the company DB Cargo manages part of the transport plan, relying on the SNCF subsidiary Hexafret.

"We assist potential customers in boarding the trains, as loading must be done at the right times to ensure that both the departure and arrival sites are able to handle the goods," emphasizes Françoise Comte. The weekly train leaves Alsace on Wednesday and arrives in La Seyne on Friday, where CCI agents must be present along its route through the town, particularly at level crossings, to keep traffic flowing. "Our agents are trained for this," emphasizes Laurence Neid.

Seas Axis

Especially since the CCI intends to further develop this rail-sea traffic by promoting the Brégaillon site, particularly at trade fairs. "Today, no port develops if it doesn't have maritime rail traffic. This is also part of the Seas axis (Mediterranean-Rhône-Saône)," the duo explains. The Seyne site also expects an increase in traffic linked to defense activity. "Hosting regular connections may persuade carriers to leave rail resources on site, for example traction equipment."

The port of Brégaillon also continues to receive by sea cargoes of silicate for the cement manufacturer Vicat and biomass for the GazelEnergie power plant in Gardanne, whose activity has been increasing since the signing of an electricity purchase contract with the State last November.