Medway France, the French subsidiary of the MSC Group (Mediterranean Shipping Company), is continuing its expansion in the French rail market and has purchased four Stadler Euro6000 locomotives to support the growth of its rail freight operations.
The company, already active on freight lines in Portugal and Spain, is strengthening its presence in France, particularly in the northern part of the country, and is also preparing to operate trains between Fos-sur-Mer and the Édouard Herriot port in Lyon. Its headquarters are in Écully, in the Lyon metropolitan area.
Four locomotives christened with female names
The new locomotives were received at Lyon-Perrache Station, where the christening ceremony took place. In keeping with maritime tradition, the locomotives will bear female first names.
The godmothers of these vehicles were the children of company employees, and each of the young girls broke a bottle of champagne on a locomotive.
Thus, the four locomotives were named Estelle, Maud, Thaïs, and Valentine.
6,170 kW and 120 km/h locomotives
The Stadler Euro6000 locomotives have a maximum power of 6,170 kW, which can vary depending on the supply voltage. Each vehicle is 23.020 meters long, 2.90 meters wide, and 4.29 meters tall.
They are equipped with four pantographs and have a maximum speed of 120 km/h, designed to haul heavy freight trains.
The expansion in France follows the launch of the first services at the end of 2025
The acquisition of the locomotives comes after December 14, 2025, when Medway France operated its first service between Caffiers and Dunkerque for a client in the steel industry.
According to the company, the service in France is set to run 365 days a year and transport up to 3,600 tons per train of essential raw materials, such as lime and limestone, to one of Europe’s largest steel mills.
Three days later, on December 17, 2025, Medway Austria and Medway Italia also launched a three-times-weekly service between Linz, Wels, and Trieste, Italy’s largest container port.
France and Austria complete Medway’s European expansion
The company notes that the new services in France and Austria support the transition to more sustainable logistics while simultaneously improving regional companies’ access to global markets.
The service in Austria was designed to integrate with MEDLOG’s existing intermodal network, offering more efficient connections between key European hubs. It is specifically aimed at customers in the forestry, paper and pulp, automotive, and retail sectors, which rely heavily on north-south freight flows.
Founded in 2016, Medway operates in nine European countries: Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and more recently in France and Austria.
By entering these two new markets, the group is strengthening its ability to operate cross-border trains along the continent’s east-west axis, complementing existing routes in the north-south direction and on the Iberian Peninsula, where Medway is recognized as the largest private rail freight operator.
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