Multimodal · Ferroutage
Combine ferry and rail to move freight from Rosslare to the Iberian Peninsula. No drivers on the road. No UK border paperwork. Lower emissions.
The concept
Ferroutage is a multimodal freight service that combines ferry crossings with long-distance rail transport. Instead of driving a truck across hundreds of kilometres of French motorway, you put the trailer on a train.
On the Cherbourg–Rosslare corridor, it works like this: unaccompanied trailers arrive by ferry from Rosslare and are transferred to rail wagons at Cherbourg. The train then carries them 970 km south through France to Bayonne, near the Spanish border, where they're collected for final delivery.
The result is a seamless chain from Ireland to the Iberian Peninsula — with no UK involvement, minimal road miles, and significantly lower carbon emissions.
Step by step
Drop off
Drop the unaccompanied trailer at Rosslare Europort for loading onto the ferry. No driver travels with the unit.
Sea crossing
The trailer crosses the Celtic Sea overnight on a Brittany Ferries vessel. Approximately 18 hours.
Rail transfer
At Cherbourg, the trailer is loaded onto a rail wagon and transported 970 km south through France to Bayonne.
Collection
At Bayonne, a local driver collects the trailer for final delivery into Spain or Portugal. Door-to-door, Ireland to Iberia.
Advantages
Your cargo goes from Ireland to the continent without entering the UK at any point. That means no customs declarations, no GVMS, no delays at Dover or Calais.
Rail freight generates a fraction of the CO2 that road haulage does over the same distance. Moving trailers by train from Cherbourg to Bayonne takes thousands of truck-kilometres off French roads.
Because the trailers travel unaccompanied, you don't need a driver for the 970 km rail journey. That frees up your fleet and reduces costs associated with driver wages, rest stops and accommodation.
French autoroute tolls add up quickly over long distances. Rail avoids them entirely. Combined with fuel savings, the economics make a strong case for Ferroutage on the Ireland–Spain corridor.
Get started
Ferroutage bookings are handled through Brittany Ferries' freight department. The team can advise on scheduling, pricing and trailer specifications.
Freight & multimodal
Contact the Brittany Ferries freight team to arrange Ferroutage and direct ferry freight services.