Adif, Puertos del Estado, and the Port Authority of Castelló boost construction of the new southern railway access
Connecting the port directly to the Mediterranean Corridor, this strategic initiative will enhance intermodal freight traffic by providing greater efficiency and competitiveness to the train, reducing access and transit times.
Madrid, January 20, 2023 (Adif). Adif, Puertos del Estado, and the Port Authority of Castelló (APC) have signed an agreement to promote a set of actions that will materialize the new southern railway access to the port of the Castellón capital.
The agreement was signed today in Madrid by the President of Adif, María Luisa Domínguez, the President of Puertos del Estado, Álvaro Rodríguez, and the President of the APC, Rafael Simó.
The agreement establishes projects and actions with an investment of 132 million euros, of which Adif will assume 71.7 million and the APC the remaining 60.3 million. The regulation of financing conditions is also one of the main objects of the agreement signed today.
The actions included in the agreement will consist of the execution of the platform and track works of section II, in a stretch of 3.6 km from the end of section I to the port, both for the external access and the internal network of the port. Likewise, works will be carried out on the track project in 8.3 km of sections I and II, electrification (sections I and II), the execution of works for the new electrical substation, and the drafting of projects and execution of safety and communication installations and train reversal.
These actions will be largely funded by the European Union through the "Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan, financed by the European Union – NextGenerationEU."
Additionally, Adif is already advancing in the works of section I of the new southern railway access, awarded with an investment of 100.1 million euros, which will run for 4.7 km from the access between the Mediterranean Corridor and the west head of the future intermodal station, connecting with the start of section II. This action also has funding from the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan.
The construction of the new southern railway access to port facilities is part of the commitment of the Ministry of Transport, Mobility, and Urban Agenda (Mitma), which promotes rail-port connectivity as a strategic factor to enhance Spanish ports as reference logistics platforms in Southern Europe.
In addition to this factor, the objective is to increase the competitiveness of these logistics platforms and establish themselves as poles of attraction for private investment.
The new railway access to the Port of Castelló also stands out as a relevant action in the development of the Mediterranean Corridor, as it will represent a direct connection to this strategic infrastructure, allowing the increase of rail traffic with a more efficient, competitive, and sustainable transport alternative.
Intermodal Station
Currently, the APC is drafting the construction project for the Intermodal Station, which will be located in the new southern railway access to the port of Castelló.
The investment for its development is outside the scope of the agreement, although the expropriation of part of the land occupied by the Intermodal Station, as well as the execution of part of its platform, are included in the scope of the action regulated by the agreement, as they are part of the platform project of section II of the new railway access and have a close relationship with the future operating scheme of the access.
Development of the Action
The new railway access to the Port of Castelló consists of an access branch from the Mediterranean Corridor, consisting of an external access infrastructure to the port, integrated into the General Interest Railway Network (RFIG), administered by Adif, and an internal access - which will be located in the internal network of the port - integrated into the RFIG administered by the APC. This operating scheme must be ratified in a subsequent connection agreement.
This new southern link, for the exclusive use of freight trains, and with a length of 8.3 km in electrified single-track, mixed-gauge will facilitate the entry of goods by train into the port facility without length constraints, reaching up to 750 m.
The new railway access begins with the mixed-gauge already installed on track 1 of the Castelló-Almassora section (south-mountain side) of the Mediterranean Corridor and the completion of phase 0 works for the platform of the new southern railway access.
The planned actions also include a train reversal facility near the access branch to allow movements to the north, presumably in the vicinity of the Vila-real station, located just over 7 km south of the Castelló station.
Other Actions at the Port of Castelló
In addition to the investment in section I, 3.5 million euros for the technical assistance and works control of section I are added, which are in the bidding phase.
Likewise, the public information period has begun for the construction project of the second platform section of the new access to the port of Castelló, with an approximate length of 3.6 km. This will complete the phase of definitive approval of the project for the subsequent bidding of the works.
All these works contribute to achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), especially its targets 9.1 (develop reliable infrastructure) and 9.4 (modernize infrastructure).