Modal Group has launched a rail service between Dunkirk and Lyon with three pairs of trains a week from the outset, offering road hauliers an alternative to all-road transport between two major industrial and logistics areas. The first train left Dunkirk at 17:00 on 3 September 2026 and arrived in Lyon at 07:00 the following morning. It is a multi-customer service open to road hauliers, freight forwarders, logistics operators and industrial companies, and can carry any type of goods, from chemicals, liquids and gases to general cargo, refrigerated loads and temperature-controlled freight. Permitted loading units include P400 semi-trailers, containers and 45-foot swap bodies, with around 40 intermodal transport units per train on services up to 750 metres long. Frequencies will increase as new traffic is added, with a target of five pairs of trains a week.
The group controls the entire transport chain in-house. The Dunkirk terminal, located within the port and close to facilities serving maritime links with the British Isles, is operated by Terminaux Multimodaux. Trains are organised by Delta Rail, while Modalis supplies locomotives, handling equipment and wagons. Traction is provided by Traix, which obtained its licence and single safety certificate in June 2026. According to Modal Group, the terminal's location makes it possible to combine rail flows with Channel crossings.
"The initial feedback on this service is very encouraging," said chairman Bernard Meï. "With this new route, we are laying the cornerstone for the gradual development of a network connected to the main European corridors and offering our customers even more options." From January 2027, the corridor will be extended to Piacenza via Lyon, creating a continuous rail connection between Dunkirk, the Lyon region and northern Italy. The service to Piacenza is currently being tested in Italy. The group's rail network in France and Europe already includes the Fos-Lyon, Fos-Chalon-sur-Saône and Lyon-Piacenza routes, with Dunkirk-Lyon-Piacenza now being added. Dunkirk's location will allow traffic to and from the Benelux countries, the United Kingdom and Ireland to be connected by rail with southern Europe.
