Massive wildfires in south-west France are impacting rail and road freight traffic.
All rail traffic going south from Bordeaux towards Bayonne and Spain, via the Atlantic Coast and vice versa, has been suspended until further notice.
DB Cargo France president and CEO, Alexandre Gallo, told The Loadstarthe company had had to cancel five trains per day since the wildfires began last week.
“Train services to and from the south have been suspended at Bordeaux. It is therefore impossible to route the scheduled trains to Bayonne and onward to Spain via the Atlantic coast.”
Gallo said the company had been informed that traffic on the rail line will not resume before Friday (31 July).
It is unclear whether the line itself has been affected by the wildfires.
He added that his thoughts were with DB Cargo France staff who may have been evacuated from towns and areas affected by the wildfires.
Another rail freight service hit by the disruption is Brittany Ferries’ combi service between the Channel port Cherbourg and Bayonne, in the French Basque Country. Some of the trailers it carries originate from or are bound for Spain, the UK and Ireland.
As for road freight, the A63 motorway – a major corridor for truck traffic between Spain and France – has been closed in a south-north direction since yesterday evening.
The measure was taken by the French authorities so as not to create congestion in the Bordeaux suburbs where the wildfires are now concentrated. This has in turn led to a severe build-up of HGVs in the vicinity of Bayonne, close to the Spanish border.
10,000 lorries per day use the motorway between Spain and Bordeaux, travelling in both directions. According to motorway operator, Vinci Autoroutes, late-afternoon today, there were 6km tailbacks leading to the Bayonne junction A63 motorway.
No indication when the south-north carriageway of the motorway – a 170km stretch will re-open.
As for rail freight, with five trains daily – essentially ‘combi’ traffic and automobiles – the route via Bordeaux and Bayonne to Spain is of major importance DB Cargo France. Hexafret and Captrain (both units of Rail Logistics Europe/Groupe SNCF) are thought to operate on the line too.
The wildfires started in the Bordeaux region last Wednesday and have already burnt 42,000 hectares of land and forced the evacuation of 220,000 people. More than 80 firefighters have been injured in tackling the blazes.
Although reported to have stabilised, the wildfires are nevertheless still spreading and approaching Bordeaux.