🇫🇷 Cherbourg-Bayonne piggyback transport

A consortium, led by OFFROY (leader), NGE GENIE CIVIL, Guintoli, NGE ENERGIES SOLUTIONS, LOHR Industrie and DNA Consult has been chosen by Ports de Normandie, in collaboration with Brittany Ferries, to carry out the terminal works in the port of Cherbourg as part of France’s 5th piggyback transport project. 
This rail motorway project will enable semi-trailers from Ireland and the UK to be loaded onto LOHR wagons on arrival in Cherbourg, for onward transport to the Bayonne area. The aim is to reduce the pollution caused by the movement of these 25,000 trailers every day. 

The scope of the works is divided into 3 phases:

• Phase 1: Construction of the transhipment pit, including earthworks, network rerouting, the laying of water and wastewater networks, the construction of the reinforced concrete pit, the laying of rails in the pit and the installation of transhipment equipment, which will accommodate the trains and enable lorry trailers to be loaded onto wagons specially designed for horizontal loading of semi-trailers and transport on the rail network.
  

• Phase 2: Construction of a conventional ballasted track shunting system, a locomotive fuelling station and the connection of the terminal tracks to the 2 new turnouts being laid on the Cherbourg-Maritime spur line.
  A special oblique crossing will also be built to allow the terminal freight trains to cross over the carriages, which can support ships of up to 1,000 tonnes, from the CMN construction sheds to the sea

• Phase 3: Construction of the various buildings (equipment room, compressor room and control tower) and all the cladding.

With this first piggyback project, TSO and the NGE Group are participating in the creation of a new mode of transport aimed at reducing atmospheric pollution, in particular CO2 emissions, improving road safety and reducing road congestion and accidents.