The Spanish Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility has announced the tender of a €511,700 contract to undertake a detailed study examining a potential direct freight route between the Pau-Canfranc international segment and the Mediterranean Corridor. It would potentially create a new direct Toulouse / Bordeaux – Zaragoza freight rail route.
Another key focus will be to explore the feasibility of creating a direct freight route connecting this line with the Mediterranean Corridor without the need to route through Zaragoza, thus addressing existing issues related to freight continuity.
Currently, freight movements between Zaragoza and the Mediterranean Corridor near Barcelona are facilitated through two single-track lines with Iberian gauge, optimized for directional travel. Freight moving from Zaragoza to Barcelona primarily traverses the Lleida-Plana de Picamoixons line, while the opposite direction uses the Mora la Nova-Caspe line.
The tendered project, which has a 14-month timeline, aims to produce preliminary studies detailed enough to support decision-making regarding the most viable options. These studies will evaluate various potential interventions aimed at mitigating current operational challenges, along with estimating the financial investments and timelines associated with these actions.
This study is included in the broader initiative funded by the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) focused on the reopening of the Pau-Canfranc line.
In particular, the study corresponds with an initiative seeking to elevate rail freight as the backbone of multimodal logistic chains, in the dual context of economic recovery post-COVID19 and achieving the goals of decarbonization and sustainability in transport. Freight rail in Spain currently only represents around 4% of the land transport share.
