On Friday 7 July, the CFL Group has celebrated the official inauguration of the new intermodal terminal Bettembourg-Dudelange in the presence of HRH the Grand Duke Henri, Mars Di Bartolomeo, President of the Chambre des Députés, Etienne Schneider, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Economy and François Bausch, Minister for Sustainable Development and Infrastructures.

The new platform aims to become a European logistics hub, connecting the industry of Luxembourg to the main European ports and economic centres.

Jeannot Waringo, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the CFL, launched the ceremony by welcoming His Royal Highness and the guests. Mr Waringo then presented the evolution of the CFL Freight activities and the political framework to the 350 guests.

Marc Wengler, General Director of CFL, continued by presenting the current situation and the perspectives of the CFL Freight activities, highlighting among others the advantages of using alternative transport modes to the road in order to reduce CO2 emissions. Rail transport for example emits seven times less CO2 than road transport.

Minister Bausch highlighted the following during his speech: “Given the possibilities of the new multimodal platform for Luxembourg, the country is playing a precursor role in Europe. Luxembourg is taking a different approach to the future than other countries. We are not basing our development on gigaliners but rather on the transfer of freight onto trains, not by going against the road but by collaborating with transport by road and by waterways.”

Next, Minister Schneider took the floor: “CFL multimodal’s intermodal terminal provides Luxembourg with yet another high-performing infrastructure that contributes to our international reputation as an efficient logistics platform. The economic development of the Grand Duchy and its attractiveness for industrial investors are supported by a sustainable and high-value-added logistics service offering. These services are vital to industrial companies settled in our country and thanks to the intermodal terminal they can rely more on rail transport.”

His Royal Highness the Grand Duke Henri cut the ribbon, in the presence of the dignitaries and the management board of CFL. This was followed by a guided tour of the new terminal, in which all guests participated with great interest. The delegation also toured the job-village, presenting the different jobs of the CFL Group in an educational manner.

The new terminal has a surface of 33 ha, 4 combined rail tracks and 2 rail motorway platforms, each 700 metres long, and was the biggest construction site in Luxembourg under one single project owner.

After two and a half years of construction, the intermodal terminal is now ready to meet the challenge of the modal transfer and to contribute to the promotion of combined transport in Europe. With its ideal geographic and its efficient combined train network, the new international hub is enabling the consolidation of multimodal transport flows within Europe and beyond.

This strategy adheres entirely to the national objective to develop the logistics sector.

The official inauguration was followed by a Porte Ouverte event on Sunday 9 July, presenting the new terminal to the general public.

Photo (L-R): Fraenz Benoy, Managing Director of CFL multimodal; Etienne Schneider, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Economy; François Bausch, Minister for Sustainable Development and Infrastructures; HRH the Grand Duke Henri; Jeannot Waringo, Chairman of the Board of Directors of CFL; Marc Wengler, General Director of CFL