TransItalia plans to add a second weekly semitrailers by rail service between Valencia and Portuguese Entroncamento in June or July, following rising demand since the route launched in January. The announcement was made by Sofia Sousa, representing the operator, at the TRANSPORTES & NEGÓCIOS railway seminar.
The current service operates once a week with capacity for 26 semi-trailers. Demand is approaching 70 loads, according to TransItalia, exceeding available capacity. When space is unavailable, semi-trailers are routed via Madrid, where they join the Valencia–Madrid rail motorway, which runs three times per week with capacity for 40 semi-trailers per train.
Two weekly rotations had been indicated when the Valencia–Entroncamento service was introduced but were not implemented at the time.
The service continues to use diesel locomotives for the entire route, as the Portuguese section of the line is not electrified. An initial attempt to operate with electric traction between Valencia and Badajoz was discontinued due to time required for locomotive changes, leading to diesel operation across the full corridor.
TransItalia’s Iberian rail motorways operate as extensions of its Motorways of the Sea services in the Mediterranean, run in partnership with the Grimaldi Group. In addition to Italy, the network serves Greece, Slovenia and Croatia, with further extensions under consideration to Tunisia, Malta, Morocco and Turkey.
