Brittany Ferries is to expand its Rosslare-Cherbourg service from today which has been welcomed by Irish Rail (Iarnród Éireann), the Port Authority for Rosslare Europort, writes Jehan Ashmore.
The decision by Brittany Ferries is to more than double its weekly services on the Ireland-France route. This will see four services in each way between Rosslare Europort and Cherbourg in Normandy, up from two each way currently. The service will then increase further to five each way at the end of the month.
Ropax Cotentin, with 2,200 freight lane metres and 160 passengers, already runs one weekly return sailing on the route and will operate three of the five services each way on the expanded schedule. The other vessels on the route, Afloat highlights are those of the Stena Ro Ro developed E-Flexer class chartered to the Breton-based company, among them the Galicia with a 1,000 passenger capacity.
Its competitor Stena Line only last month withdrew its large cruise ferry Stena Vision of 1,300 passengers following a strategic review, but the Wexford-Normandy link also reported continues with ropax Stena Horizon with just more than half the passenger capacity. The company, however, has stated it will “deploy additional support vessels to the route during periods of peak demand from freight and travel customers.”.
The expansion of the Brittany Ferries service also follows the opening in recent weeks of Rosslare Europort’s new freight check-in and passenger vehicle check-in facilities. The new check-in booths will speed up the boarding process, saving time and lessening congestion in and around the port, which forms part of the Masterplan, the largest ever investment of the port’s history.
The south-east port is one of the largest and busiest ro-ro ports in Ireland with links to the UK and direct connections to the continental mainland via France and Spain.
To reflect the needs of freight and passenger demands, ongoing works to transform Rosslare Europort through the Masterplan include the T7 Border Control Post development, which is scheduled to be completed in late 2025. This involves a partnership with the Office of Public Works.
