“Better than forecast”
In conversation with Christian Heimburger, chairman of the board of the Lyon Terminal.
From the Rhine to the Rhône – Alsace-born Christian Heimburger has worked in Lyon for more than 30 years. He took over the management of the Lyon Terminal three years ago. The subsidiary of the Compagnie nationale du Rhône (CNR) has two facilities in the inland port of Lyon, each covering approximately 10 ha, where goods are transferred between barges, the railways and trucks.
Mr Heimburger, you’ve been at home in Lyon for years and connected to the Lyon Terminal for a while. Can you enlighten us on your business chronology for the last 20 months?
2020 was a rather difficult but definitely not a catastrophic year. Even when business declined during the nationwide lockdown, neither of our terminals was closed at any point. Business then picked up again towards the end of the summer of 2020. This has continued since then, even though we haven’t quite reached pre-pandemic volumes again; but we expect to do so soon. 2021, in turn, was rather satisfactory; it even looks to close better than forecast. I’m pleased with the professionalism our staff has shown on all fronts – concerning health, safety and the economy.
“Volumes are 40% higher year-on-year.”
Can you give us any figures?
As things stand today we expect to have shifted 70,000 teu through the Lyon Terminal by water by the end of this year, and 67,000 teu by rail. As the only hub in the region that serves all three modes of transport – inland waterway runs to Marseille, rail to Marseille and to the north, with onward distribution by road – we expect a total of about 275,000 teu.
That’s about 28,000 teu less than in 2019, but since June 2021 our volumes have been more than a quarter higher than in the first few months of this year and approximately 40% higher year-on-year. This trend should continue in 2022.
What impact has ongoing congestion in maritime ports had on your hub?
We consider ourselves as the last link in the maritime supply chain, so we naturally suffer directly from congestion in seaports. If inland vessels sail up the Rhine less regularly, this subsequently complicates the overall planning of our daily operations.
What measures has your company taken to combat this?
We try to make our operations as flexible as possible. To do so we can rely on our own staff on the one hand, as well as ensuring, on the other hand, that we make our relationships with the individual operators as fluid as possible.
With a platform like ours, it’s crucial that all links in the logistics chain work together efficiently and meet the challenges with common answers.
One means of increasing efficiency in logistics is digitalising services. What is the status of this field with you?
Digitalisation is a strategic question that has an impact on our operational performance too. Here, too, it’s really about everyone pulling together – that is to say in our terminals, but also at the connected intermediate interfaces, such as customs offices. We constantly question our approach and try to anticipate what any future developments might be.
What current projects of yours fall under the catchword of sustainability?
First of all there’s the question of collaborating with CNR, the French waterways administration VNF and the city and metropolitan region of Lyon to make sure we go the last mile in an environment-friendly way.
Then I’d additionally like to mention two projects. We’re currently in the process of installing electrical connections on the quays, to allow ships to be supplied directly with green electricity. Furthermore, we’re converting our vehicle fleet and will mainly use hydrogen-powered tractors in future.
“Our railfreight options have increased since the beginning of this year and our business relations with operators are constant.”
Back to the railways. How are the Lyon Terminal’s connections developing?
Railfreight operations are growing. Frequencies between Bettembourg (Luxembourg) and the Lyon Terminal have again increased since the beginning of this year. Last year the Belgian operator Lineas launched a new service to and from Antwerp. We additionally inaugurated another Naviland service this year, which shuttles between Marseille Fos and Lyon and augments the Novatrans/Greenmodal option nicely. Our business relations with these operators are constant, and the overarching aim is always to improve the quality of our services.
You were at Sitl in Paris in September. What impressions did you take away with you from there?
First of all it was good to establish new relationships and meet up with old acquaintances. The event showed the industry’s strong resilience and gave us the feeling that the most difficult weeks of last year are now behind us. The mood was good and the momentum was further boosted by an announcement made by the French government to promote more freight transport by rail.