With the acquisition of this rolling stock (at 4 million euros per unit), Medway is releasing itself from leasing to other companies. In France, the freight operator also uses traction from Hexafret, rail operator that kept rolling stock from former Fret SNCF, restructured into other companies following the outcome of an investigation from the European Commission.

EU support

Next to each locomotive cabin, a sticker shows that the acquisition of the locomotives benefited from the support of the EU funds. Medway invested €41.1 million, around a third of it supported by Spain’s Recovery and Resilience Plan, the sticker details. This means that the new Euro6000 will also operate in Spain, mainly on standard gauge rail tracks.

Nevertheless, there is a chance that these locomotives will be allowed to go further in Spain and explore the larger Iberian gauge tracks. “Eventually, we have the possibility of changing the bogies”, reveals Carlos Vasconcelos. Such a possibility, however, would increase operational costs (and consume more time). Since last July, the MSC group has started to produce wagons and bogies for standard and Iberian gauge in Trieste in partnership with Innofreight.

Filling the gap

The ceremony was also an opportunity for MSC to reflect on the role of Medway in the Swiss-owned group. “I have brought to fruition a strategic journey that the group embarked upon 10 years ago with Portugal, with the aim of achieving rail coverage across the whole of Europe, from Portugal to Germany, from Belgium to Italy.

However, there was a significant gap in this strategy, and that was France. Therefore, we are truly proud to have filled that gap and to now have Medway France operating in Europe in a leading role”, highlighted Medlog’s Rail Manager, Andrea Castino, during his speech.

Carlos Vasconcelos reminded that Medway began its operations after winning the privatisation of the former freight business from CP – Comboios de Portugal. “We committed to transform a national operator into a true European rail operator. Ten years on, I can tell you that we are delivering on that commitment today”, he emphasised.

Smashing bottles

Since the beginning, Medway has followed the tradition of designating each of its locomotives with the names of the workers’ daughters and granddaughters. Estelle, Thaïs, Maud and Valentine became the “sponsors” of the new machines. All of them attended the ceremony (including baby Thaïs) after receiving a personal invitation from the rolling stock operator.

To conclude the naming ceremony, each of the girls had to smash a champagne glass into the locomotive, in sign of good luck, following the cruise ship’s tradition. However, the first attempts were not successful, since the glass was hitting the cabin access steps instead of the pneumatic buffer. Then, each girl pressed the horn to the audience.

After the event, the new locomotives left Lyon-Perrache, as they were ready to operate. From this week, they are moving goods from the Port of Le Havre to several locations in France. The steel industry and containers from the MSC group will be the focus of the Medway’s operation in France.

“We will anchor our operation in the ports of Dunkirk, Bordeaux and Marseille”, Medway’s chairman said last February to RailFreight. “Our mission is to replace trucks with trains, also supporting short-sea and deep-sea activities”, he added at that time.

The steel industry and containers will be the focus of Medway’s operation in France. “We will anchor our operation in the ports of Dunkirk, Bordeaux and Marseille”, Vasconcelos added. “Our mission is to replace trucks with trains, also supporting short-sea and deep-sea activities”. The international operator demands that rail freight operations have “equal competition conditions” with road transport.

In the works since 2023

The MSC group was already working with some freight operators in France. Despite that, they “decided to integrate the service, to have a unique and integrated supply chain coordination and operation, rather than saving costs,” says Vasconcelos from Medway’s headquarters in Lisbon. A ‘proper’ expansion to the French market has been in Medway’s horizon since August 2023.

Back then, the operator’s managing director, Bruno Silva, announced an investment of 45 million euros to buy eight locomotives and 350 wagons to explore cross-border tracks between Spain and France. No details were disclosed in the investment to acquire the new Euro6000 locomotives for France.

Iberian rail highway

The possibility of Medway exploring the rail highway market in France is not yet a concrete one. “We don’t expect to have the specific wagons for this possibility in the short term”, admits Vasconcelos. The Iberian Peninsula is the focus of putting truck semi-trailers over rails. After the beginning of the initiative, in 2024, with the route Valencia-Madrid, the operation was extended to Portugal at the beginning of this year.

Between Valencia and Alcázar de San Juán, Medway uses the Euro6000 electric locomotives, pulling up to 750-meter-long trains. However, from Alcázar to Entroncamento, the operator must split the train and shift to a diesel locomotive. In Portugal, the only line available is the Linha do Leste, a non-electrified rail track opened in 1863.

In 2025, several Linha do Leste stations were adapted to accommodate such a type of train, in a 230,000-euro investment from the Portuguese infrastructure manager IP. Despite this, limitations remain, as a maximum of 14 wagons (with two semitrailers each) are allowed for this track, according to Vasconcelos. In comparison, trains running between Valencia and Madrid can move 20 wagons, removing 40 trucks from the roads.

Alternatively, corresponding to Linha da Beira Alta (part of the TEN-T Atlantic Corridor), could be used for rail highway services. “However, the loading gauge is not sufficient and the catenary height is not high enough”, laments Medway’s chairman. There are no further plans to improve this scenario, despite an investment of 679 million euros over the last few years to improve freight traffic between Pampilhosa and Vilar Formoso.

Badajoz as a hub

At the beginning of 2027, Portugal expects to open the new rail track between Evora and Elvas. “This investment will reduce the costs of the service to the ports of Sines and Setúbal”, mentions Vasconcelos. The new 80-kilometre track will “allow longer trains, faster services and fewer restrictions and limitations”. In the short term, Seville and the Extremadura region will benefit from this investment.

Depending on the future development, the Sines Port could become “an entrance door” to Madrid and “almost as competitive” as the Valencia Port. This scenario can make Badajoz an operational hub for Medway: “we can have a full train in Badajoz and then split into one service to Cordoba and another to Seville”, he underlined.

Storms in Portugal cost 1.5 million euros

Portugal was hit by several storms between the end of January and the first half of February. Several rail tracks were suspended, including Linha do Norte, the network’s backbone. “Until 7 February, we only operated 42% of the scheduled services”, Vasconcelos stressed. Net losses reached 1.5 million euros, because during that period operational expenses went up, he specified.

This temporary situation added problems in the Portuguese market. In late 2021, the operator ordered 16 new Stadler Euro6000 locomotives, suitable for the Iberian market but only with onboard ASFA Digital (Spain’s most advanced ATP system) and ETCS (the European ATP standard). In Portugal, the ETCS installation is not in place yet, meaning the new rolling stock is confined to one of the sides of the border. “Our new locomotives are not being fully utilised. We are desperate for it”, laments the executive.

Onboard ETCS must be complemented by a ‘translator’ – the Specific Transmission Module (STM), which allows trains equipped with ETCS to read the signal emitted by Convel balises. In other words, STM allows trains equipped with ETCS to run on tracks that still have the legacy national system (Class B system). Without any STM system, ETCS trains could only circulate on the new rail track between Évora and Elvas, between Pampilhosa and Vilar Formoso and between Cais do Sodré and Cascais. The STM rollout is expected to take place this year.

Final details on the Spanish joint venture

Medway’s chairman was also asked about the finalisation of the agreement for a joint venture between Spain’s state-owned rail freight operator Renfe Mercancías. However, no more information on this topic was disclosed due to the confidentiality of negotiations. For now, some formal documents and attachments are being finalised to be submitted by Renfe’s board of directors.

It is expected that the initiative will be concluded this year, which also marks the 10th anniversary of the beginning of Medlog as a freight operator after the acquisition of the freight business of the Portuguese State-owned train company CP. Since then and under the Medway brand, operations have reached Spain, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and, more recently, France and Austria.

Market takeover

This is just the latest example of MSC’s recent efforts to deploy more freight trains in Spain and boost the modal shift, both for container and semi-trailer traffic. For example, the company is now operating a rail highway service for semi-trailers between the port of Valencia, Madrid and now also Portugal.

Moreover, there will soon be three new terminals operated by Medway near the Spanish-Portuguese border. The first one, located in Badajoz, has been operational since October 2024, while the remaining two in Mérida and Navalmoral de la Mata should open later this year. All these initiatives are turning MSC and its subsidiaries into a rail freight powerhouse in Spain and the Iberain peninsula in general.

The Valencia-Madrid rail highway service was launched in July 2024 with four weekly trips currently operated. The extension to Portugal is also justified by Medway’s presence near the border between the two countries. MSC’s subsidiary is working on three terminals in the area: Entroncamento, Badajoz and Navalmoral de la Mata, which should open this year.

Austria to Trieste

On 17 December, Medway conducted its first operation in Austria, introducing a tri-weekly service that connects the cities of Linz of Wels to the Trieste port in Italy. This service “will be particularly beneficial to customers in the forestry, paper, pulp, automotive and retail sectors, which depend heavily on North-South cargo flows”, explains the rail operator. It is designed to integrate with Medlog’s existing intermodal network, which should help to ensure connectivity with other European hubs.

Medway was already active in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. It is the largest private operator on the Iberian peninsula, where it stands to take over part of the business of Renfe Mercancías through a joint venture.

Two very different companies

Negotiations between MSC and Renfe Mercancías started as early as 2022. By the end of 2023, the main rumour was that the shipping hegemon would take over 50% of the incumbent, but that decision was dropped in favour of the creation of a joint venture, with a preliminary, non-binding agreement signed one year ago. Despite remaining the largest rail freight operator in Spain, Renfe Mercancías has been losing volumes and money since the sector was liberalised in the early 2000s.

On the other hand, MSC has been thriving in the Spanish rail freight market, continuously growing over the past few years. Through Medway and Medlog, the group has constantly gained market share and has launched various projects in Spain. For example, it is leading the deployment of rail highway services such as the one between Valencia and Madrid, but also opening a number of terminals, especially near the border with Portugal. It remains to be seen how the new partnership with Renfe will further consolidate MSC’s position in Spain.

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.

Medway won a bid to operate the three terminals in 2023, and launched a joint venture with company Extremadura Avante to manage them. The Navalmoral de la Mata terminal occupies 12.5 hectares and can store 800 TEU. It should be able to handle 50,000 twenty-foot containers per year, reports El Mercantil.

Navalmoral currently lies along the Cáceres-Madrid railway, but it will also link up to a hub at Talayuela. That hub provides connection to rail corridors between central Spain, Extremadura and Portugal.

There are no confirmed services planned for the terminal, and the terminal operator has ruled out participating in the Tramesa/Transitalia rail highway from Valencia.

The city of Mérida and the Extremadura area are key for Medway’s network. MSC’s rail freight arm is increasing its presence in the region as it recently started operating three terminals: one in Mérida, one in Badajoz and one in Navalmoral de la Mata. Medway has been growing in Spain since it entered the market in 2018. From an initial market share of 1.8%, it has now risen to the third largest operator with 12%. MSC is also in the process of creating a joint venture with the Spanish state-owned operator Renfe.

The data was put together by the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC) and considered trains/kilometre, net tonnes, net tonnes/kilometre and revenues.

As the graph shows, the numbers are better than the last quarter in all categories. However, comparisons with the same period of 2024 show lower growth and even negative figures.

This is especially true for the block train sector, which lost some ground in all categories on a year-on-year basis despite the positive comparison with the previous quarter.

On the other hand, intermodality seems to be growing since it performed positively in all categories except trains/kilometre when compared year-on-year.

Market outlook

The CNMC data on the first quarter of 2025 also confirmed recent market trend: Renfe Mercancías is slowly but constantly losing volumes, while Medway continues to grow. The subsidiary of MSC is the only company that has posted better figures year-on year rather than on a quarterly basis. For these data, CNMC only provides net tonnes, net tonnes/kilometre and trains/kilometre for the five main operators, leaving out the revenues.