Multi-million upgrade

The terminal in Jundiz is part of the 95-million-euro upgrade of the hubs in Vitoria-Gasteiz near the port of Bilbao, 37 of which have already been deployed. Currently, the terminal has two mixed-gauge tracks measuring 600 meters and one for 460-meter trains. The upgrade will create four tracks of 740 metres, enabling the handling of long trains in standard gauge.

Whoever will get the job, will manage 55,000 square metres of intermodal surface, including a slab area to handle intermodal transport units (ITUs), three buffered electrified tracks and road access. Initially, the terminal will have the capacity to handle 50,000 ITUs every year, while it will increase to 170,000 once new gantry cranes are installed.

What is the Efficiency Network and when was it introduced?
Efficiency Network is the quality label of the Port of Barcelona. It’s a program that brings together companies that work with high levels of reliability, transparency, and security. The goal is to make logistics smoother, faster, and more predictable for importers and exporters. Through this label, the Port encourages collaboration across the entire logistics chain, making sure everyone works with shared standards and a clear commitment to service quality.

We launched the initiative in 2011. Back then, global trade was becoming increasingly demanding, companies wanted more visibility over their shipments and faster delivery times. The Port of Barcelona saw that the best way to meet these expectations was to unite the different actors in the logistics chain under a common quality framework. Efficiency Network was created to respond to that need, helping ensure that the Port could offer the highest levels of efficiency in Southern Europe.

How many companies are participating in it, and what are the benefits for them?

Today, 97 companies belong to the Efficiency Network community. Between them there are the main container handling terminals, shipping companies, freight forwarders, and transport companies working at the Port of Barcelona. Being part of the program offers them many advantages: they work with a clear methodology for improvement, receive support from the Port Authority, increase their visibility in the market, and collaborate more closely with other logistics partners and public administrations.

A very important part of this growth is the extension of the Efficiency Network to rail freight, which reinforces the Port of Barcelona’s commitment to environmental sustainability. For many years, the Port has worked to boost rail traffic as a greener and more efficient alternative. In line with this strategy, in 2023 Efficiency Network launched a major expansion of its quality label to container rail transport.

This extension aims to maximise digitalization of the entire rail logistics process, improve punctuality of train departures and arrivals and provide full traceability of each container transported by rail. To develop this ambitious initiative, the Port of Barcelona is working closely with all actors in the rail logistics chain, ADIF, the Spanish Railway Infrastructure Manager, railway companies, rail logistics operators, container handling terminals, and leading shipping lines.

Between them, seven of these companies—ADIF, the handling terminals APMT Barcelona and Hutchison Ports BEST, the rail logistic operators SYNERGY and TRANSPORTES PORTUARIOS, and the shipping lines CMA-CGM and COSCO—are already applying the Efficiency Network methodology with the aim of becoming certified in 2026. For them, the benefits are clear: better coordination, more efficient operations, and the ability to offer customers a fully traceable and more sustainable rail logistics service.

How is the quality of service measured?

All companies in the program must meet the standards defined by the Port Authority. To ensure this, their performance is regularly audited by internationally recognized certification bodies. During these reviews, several aspects of their operations are evaluated, such as how quickly customs procedures are handled, whether deliveries are made on time, and how efficiently export cargo is loaded. Once a company joins the program, the Port works alongside them in a continuous improvement process. This collaborative approach helps us understand the performance of the entire logistics chain in detail and respond proactively to changes in global trade.

Do other ports in Spain or elsewhere have similar models?

Some ports do have quality programs, but Efficiency Network is unique to Barcelona. What makes it special is that the Port Authority itself manages the entire model—from the standards and analysis to the close relationship with certified companies. It’s a program built around the values of our Port Community, and it reflects the collaborative spirit and innovation that characterize the Port of Barcelona.

The Valencia-Madrid rail highway

The rail service for semi-trailers between the port of Valencia and Madrid was launched in July 2024. Medway provides the terminals and locomotives, the wagons come from Tramesa and the semi-trailers from TransItalia. After being interrupted in November 2024 due to the extreme weather in Valencia, the service was resumed in December.

The terminal in Abroñigal is used, among others, to serve the rail highway service between Madrid and Valencia. The facility was supposed to be shut down at the end of 2024, but the contract was extended for one year and awarded to the joint venture launched by MSC’s logistics arm Medlog and the Spanish state-owned operator Renfe. Other than managing the Aborñigal terminal in its last year, the two companies also signed a 20-year deal for the terminal in Vicálvaro.

If you can’t beat them, join them

MSC, through its subsidiaries Medlog and Medway, is expanding at a pretty fast pace in the Spanish market. In only seven years, it became the third largest operator in the country. Most of its ascent coincided with Renfe’s downfall. The company, once a hegemon, has lost a massive slice of its market share, albeit remaining the biggest player. The two companies have recently decided to join forces, with initial rumours of MSC possibly buying 50% of Renfe Mercancías and the final decision to opt for a joint venture.

Over half a billion euros invested

The Algeciras-Zaragoza rail highway will be an unaccompanied combined transport service, similar to the one already in place between Valencia and Madrid launched last year. A link between Algeciras and Zaragoza would connect Spain’s largest port with one of the main logistics hubs in the country. In total, more than 500 million euros will be deployed to adapt the infrastructure.

The project has run into a few hiccups since its announcement. Initially, the rail highway service should have started by the end of 2024 but was postponed to the end of 2026. The cost of the project has also increased from the initial estimation of 468 million euros to over 500. Other than the financial impact, the works to adapt the Algeciras–Zaragoza axis hampered rail freight in the area, with significant impact on traffic to and from the Spain’s largest port.

Different situations in France and Spain

The plan is to build a new standard gauge cross-border railway line along the older route. The first section, between Zaragozan and Huesca, is already operational, while the Huesca-Canfranc stretch has recently been renovated. From here, however, the railway network still has to be (re)built. There are a handful of kilometres of line, from Canfranc and the Spanish entrance of the old Somport railway tunnel, that need to be built from scratch.

The situation is quite similar on the French side of the border. Here, there is a missing link of about 30 kilometres, between Bedous and the French entrance to the Somport Tunnel. The line restarts in Bedous and goes all the way to Pau and further to Bordeaux and Toulouse. French infrastructure manager SNCF Réseau recently launched a period of public consultations concerning the renovation of the Pau–Somport Tunnel section.

The investments needed for reopening this cross-border section are quite unbalanced. Spain is estimating a total cost of 93 million euros to reinstate rail traffic between Canfranc and the Somport Tunnel. On the other hand, France expects costs to revolve around 450 million euros, especially considering the longer Somport Tunnel–Bedous stretch to be reopened.

Reopening a rail border crossing between Spain and France through the Pyrenees would provide an additional link, alternative to the ones along the TEN-T Mediterranean and Atlantic corridors. It would also create an extra rail connection to Zaragoza, one of Spain’s main logistics hubs. The region of Aragon, of which Zaragoza is capital, has even proposed to launch rail highway services once the line to France reopens.

The service might even be extended northwards to the Noáin intermodal terminal, near Pamplona, Aguilar added. On the other hand, it will be necessary to wait at least until the last quarter of 2026 for the Algeciras-Madrid section to be ready. It is worth mentioning that the initial launch on rolling highway services between Algeciras and Zaragoza was planned for the end of 2024. However, this was indefinitely postponed at the end of 2023, with no news until this weekend.

The Algeciras-Zaragoza rolling highway

This project aims at connecting Spain’s largest port in Algeciras with one of the country’s most important logistics hubs in Zaragoza. A total of 43 rail tunnels and 131 overpasses are being adapted to the 4-metre profile to accommodate combined transport traffic. The initial investment was estimated at 468 million euros, but it is now over 500 million. Other than taking longer and costing more than expected, construction works are also causing a volume drop in rail freight volumes at the port of Algeciras. Once the infrastructure is ready, the service will be operated by Rail & Truck, which recently received the first locomotives from Stadler.

The new line starts in Pinar de Antequera, southwest of the Valladolid city centre. The main line continues through the city, while the new bypass goes around it along its eastern boundaries. The old line and the new bypass meet again near Santovenia de Pisuerga, in the northeast of Valladolid.

The Valladolid Railway Complex

The future rail freight terminal east of Valladolid is currently being built by Spain’s infrastructure manager Adif with an investment of almost 72 million euros. Adif has recently put out to tender the contract for operations at the terminal. The value of the contract is a little over 500,000 euros and would entail a 6-year lease with the option for to extend it to 20 years.

According to Adif, the Valladolid Railway Complex will be the largest facility of its kind in Europe. With 117,000 square metres dedicated to train handling, 14 tracks, a 63,000 square metre terminal and 43,000 more for a possible expansion, it “eill bring together all logistics-industrial, track maintenance, and rolling stock activities in a single space”, Adif stated.

The video shows the first train crossing the new Valladolid Eastern Bypass. Source: LinkedIn. © Spanish Ministry of Transport

Part of a larger development

The terminal boasts a 37,500-square-metre loading slab measuring 750 metres in length and is equipped with two tracks capable of handling 750-metre-long trains. The facilities also include office space and a 7,000-square-metre parking area. The operator will manage intermodal transport unit (UTI) logistics services and train logistics, including train reception, dispatch, and shunting operations.

The Valladolid terminal is part of a larger 700,000 square metre industrial estate, which Adif says will be one of the largest of its kind in Europe. The complex will consolidate all logistics and rail activity currently carried out at Campo Grande station and other logistics facilities in the area. The Spanish infrastructure manager is investing 300 million euros in the complex, which includes a technical facility for train handling, featuring 14 dedicated tracks and covering 117,000 square metres.

Eastern Bypass connection

The terminal’s development is linked to the construction of the Valladolid Eastern Bypass. This 18-kilometre bypass, with a maximum design speed of 160 km/h, is designed to divert freight traffic from the Madrid-Hendaye line away from the city centre. The bypass is being implemented in two phases, and its completion is expected between 2025 and 2026.

“Using this system, a freight wagon equipped with this movable axle can travel between the various existing borders with different track gauges, eliminating load breakage points”, the Spanish IM underlined. The location of the test is also significant, as the Irun-Hendaye is one of the main rail border crossings between Spain and France.

Part of the MERCAVE project

The pilot implemented by Adif in Irun will cost around 2,3 million euros. It is part of the so-called MERCAVE initiative, which aims at creating a gauge-changing system for freight wagons equipped with wheels with a diameter of 920 mm and 760 mm. Other than these tests in Irun, “two improved modular gauge-changing platforms have been installed at a new testing center built by Adif in Córdoba”, the company said.

It’s more complicated for freight trains

Having a change of gauge for freight trains is a much more complicated task compared to passenger convoys, Adif explained. First, the necessary technology is much more complex, as freight wagons have higher axle load requirements, as they carry more weight. Moreover, implementing a gauge changing system on freight trains is also a more costly operation, since there would be more units to equip compared to a passenger train.