France: Optimizing infrastructure between Catalonia and Occitania

The project TRAILS (TRAnsnational Intermodal Links to Sustainability) was selected as part of the Interreg POCTEFA program for territorial co-operation co-financed by ERDF funds.

Its main objective is to promote the modal shift in our regions, to optimize the existing structures and increase the number of rail freight connections between Catalonia and Occitania on the Mediterranean corridor. The objectives of this program include the creation or reinforcement of the flow of goods (all sectors combined), through the creation of a cross-border digital single window that will present all the multimodal offer of the two territories, not to mention the creation of the existing infrastructures map in order to optimize and make profitable the investments already made in these two european regions. The overall budget of TRAILS POCTEFA is 1.35 million euros over 3 years.

The objective is clearly operational, as studies conducted in the past by other European programs (Ifreightmed and Clyma) have already clarified the situation. Accompanying measures are also to be created in order to work on the competitiveness, training and innovation aspects of the action.

Saint Charles International is a partner of Trails, alongside with the Regional Council of Occitania, Agence de Développement Economique Pyrénées Méditerranée Invest, Plateforme Multimodale Pyrénées Méditerranée, Fédération Nationale du Transport Routier 66 and Eurosud TEAM. On the Catalan side, there is the Generalitat de Catalunya, Cimalsa, FGC Ferrocarrils (Generalitat) and the General Council of Cambres de Catalunya.

The Perpignan platform will focus mainly on the communication of this European program, with the creation of specific media, creation of links between professional operators, setting up information relays, etc, going on until 2020.