Paris now a bit closer to the sea
New multimodal terminal for MSC north of the French capital. In a few months shippers will be able to make use of new services in Paris that are usually part of a seaport terminal’s portfolio. The new centre, which is being built in Bruyères-sur-Oise, relies on hinterland connections by rail and inland waterway.
Paris and the area surrounding the French capital weren’t only in the news recently as the main venue for the Olympic Games. At the end of July Medlog, the logistics division of the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), laid the foundation stone for a new future-proof multimodal platform for the Île de France and Grand Est regions.
The so-called ‘Medlog Inland Terminal Paris Bruyères’ project is part of the company’s ongoing restructuring efforts at its ‘TN MSC’ site in the ‘Port 2000’ complex of the seaport of Le Havre. It is intended to help provide importers and exporters from important French centres of trade and industry with attractive railway and inland waterway connections.
MSC’s broad investment programme is also designed to strengthen Le Havre’s role as a gateway for Western Europe. The project is of national importance and aims to achieve an additional annual turnover of 5 million teu from 2027 on, and create more than 1,000 new jobs.
Towards decarbonising logistics
The new hinterland terminal, which is scheduled for completion before the end of the year, has been designed to support this goal. To this end it provides improved railway and inland waterway infrastructure that will enable customers in the Île de France and Grand Est regions to further decarbonise their logistics operations.
Goods in this area are currently transported mainly by road; the new facility should help trucks to concentrate on the last mile in future. Philippe Lestrade, the CEO of MSC France, described the terminal as a “showcase project for MSC”.
It will move the seaport closer to the hinterland, for example by offering to maintain and repair containers, and by increasing the efficiency of logistics processes between the two MSC sites. According to Lestrade the project also supports the port of Haropa’s ambitions to create a green logistics corridor all along the river Seine.