The President of Ports de Normandie, Hervé Morin, and the French Minister for Transport, Philippe Tabarot, have inaugurated the Cherbourg ROLA terminal at the Port of Cherbourg on July 17, 2025.
The new terminal opens a new multimodal motorway connecting Cherbourg and Mouguerre (Pyrénées Atlantiques) linking Spain with Ireland and the UK. This initiative – known as ferroutage in France – marks a major step forward for the future of freight transport in France and Europe, promoting a modal shift to rail and sea.
Following 17 months of construction, the Cherbourg terminal was completed at the end of 2024, and on 20 May 2025, the first train carrying trailers loaded with goods arrived at the port of Cherbourg. Equipped with Lohr technology and located no more than 1,000 metres from ferry departure ramps, it can accommodate trains up to 750 metres long and load/unload 12 trailers simultaneously.
Designed with CO₂ reduction in mind, the Brittany Ferries ferroutage project is the first service operating from the Cherbourg ROLA terminal. The service will eventually enable up to 25,000 trailers per year to be transferred from road to rail-and-sea, thus avoiding thousands of long-distance road journeys. The gradual ramping-up of the service should see six return trips per week, by September 2025. By 2030, Brittany Ferries has set a clear objective – to offer a regular daily return rail service operated by two trains, representing 320 return trips per year.
The line linking Mouguerre to Cherbourg is operated by BAI Rail, which has invested in 47 Lohr-type wagons, specifically designed for operation on this rail motorway.
EUR 11.2 million has been invested in the Cherbourg ROLA terminal and is financed by the
- Normandy Region: £2.9 million (EUR 3.3 million)
- The Department of La Manche: EUR 1 million
- Cotentin Urban Community: EUR 340,000
- Fees (advanced by Ports de Normandie): EUR 5.5 million
- European Union: EUR 1.4 million
In addition, SPL Cherbourg Port, a company owned by Ports de Normandie (90%) and Cotentin (10%), are investing an additional EUR 4 million in equipment and superstructure
In addition, for the EUR 3.9 million rehabilitation of the rail line, the French State has invested EUR 1.5 million and the Ports de Normandie and Normandie Region, contributed with EUR 2.4 million.
Share on:
