Spanish government earmarks 17.5 million euros for the construction of the inner rail network of the Port of Sagunto
The Council of Ministers (Spain) authorised, at the proposal of the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (Mitma), the tendering of a contract for the construction of the inner rail network of the Port of Sagunto (Valencia), with an estimated investment of 17.5 million euros (VAT not included) and a completion period of 11 months.
The project, which will be financed with European CEF funds, includes the design of an Intermodal Goods Facility, with a yard for containers and another for vehicles:
– The Container Beach will be located, in part, on unpaved landfill area and will have a useful length of 750 m. in length, arranged in the South – North direction, respecting the existing ditch and enabling the future widening of the access road to the southern area of the Port of Sagunto.
– In order to carry out the design of the Vehicle Beach, different variants have been studied, taking into account that they must be capable of accommodating trains of 750 m in length and have a service road to the terminal that also connects the beach with the quay.
The project contemplates the manual mechanical movement of these and the civil works that will make possible, in a later phase (Phase 1), the installation associated with the future motorised drives of the turnouts. In a later phase (Phase 2), the proposed installation and deployment of the elements associated with track signalling and remote control of the drives by means of an Electronic Interlocking System (ENCE) can be carried out.
This project is part of the strategy of the Port Authority of Valencia (PAV) in terms of rail traffic, which includes investments of more than 240 million euros and is associated with the plan to decarbonise the activity and fight against climate change. In this sense, the promotion of rail transport is key to achieving an emissions-neutral precinct – 20 years ahead of the European Green Pact – an undeniable goal for Valenciaport.
The objective of this strategy in the short term is to continue to increase the use of the train in freight traffic arriving and departing from Valenciaport, hence the importance of undertaking the necessary actions to adapt rail accessibility. In this sense, investments are being made, such as this one in the Port of Sagunto, to take advantage of the synergy between maritime and rail transport, with the aim of favouring competitiveness and contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions.
