Spain is an international power in rail transport, especially in high-speed service, where it is the second country in the world with the most lines of this type, only surpassed by China. Several governments are focusing on a model that, thanks in part to the country’s orography, is allowing passenger transportation to be democratized, and also, and the most advanced countries are in this race, making it more sustainable. The Government is in this search for effectiveness and efficiency, which wants in this legislature to promote freight transport through the rails.
The data speaks for itself. Rail traffic registered a historical record figure in 2023 with 201 million trains circulating, 10.1% more than the accumulated figure in 2022. The figure exceeds pre-pandemic data by 1.8%, according to data from the operator Adif. By rail axes, the most important growth occurred last year on the high-speed line that connects Madrid and Levante, with a growth of 68%. Traffic on the corridor between Barcelona and the capital increased by 38.1%, for its part, exceeding pre-covid records by 40.1%.
More than thirty years have passed since the inauguration of the first high-speed line between Madrid and Seville and more than a decade since it came into service between the capital and Barcelona. The Levante followed and now, Galicia and Asturias. Also Burgos, Murcia and Granada. There are already more than 4,000 kilometers built. You could say that high speed has helped transform Spain. A country success. “The railway is essential and will be essential in the future,” confirms Cándido Pérez, partner responsible for Infrastructure and Transportation at the consulting firm KPMG. Companies, national and international, know this and have decided to invest in rail transport.
One of the great advances in recent years has been the liberalization of passenger transport through high speed. At this moment, Spain is the first country in the European Union to have three operators competing in the sector, Renfe, Ouigo and Iryo. Three competitors with three different strategies that have caused an increase in demand. A cost and efficiency effort that is benefiting users. The Minister of Transportation, Óscar Puente, stated this week that his objective during the current legislature is to continue with this liberalization effort, a strategy that responds to the investment desires of several companies, national and international, interested in operating in the business. .
But Spain is not satisfied. Puente announced that the Government intends to promote origin-destination commercial times in the coming years, and stressed the importance of the aid that users of Cercanías and Media Distancia trains enjoy. What’s more, the minister dropped that he is going to explore “an exploitation model for Cercanías services compatible with a future liberalization” of the service.
Those responsible for the mobility of the future also do not lose sight of rail freight transport, which will receive a boost this term. It is contemplated in the Recovery Plan agreed with Brussels and in the addendum, from which the requirement to implement a toll model on the roads was eliminated in exchange for betting on this modality. The Government has announced aid: “We will establish concrete measures to increase the modal share of goods such as aid to companies, the analysis and review of network ramps and other limiting factors for this type of transport, the development of new services of railway highways based on the demands of the business community, the construction of dedicated roads or the improvement of functionality in freight terminals,” Minister Puente advanced.
The Mediterranean corridor is also a priority for the Government. The Ministry’s plans include investing 11,000 million in the axis that will run through Catalonia, the Valencian Community, Murcia and Andalusia over the next few years, until 2030. In the Atlantic corridor, for its part, the State plans to invest 27,000 million in the next seven years. At this time, according to figures provided by the Government commissioner for the Mediterranean corridor, Josep Vicent Boira, last October 5,695 million have already been tendered for railway infrastructure, of which 4,190 million have been awarded and 2,693 million have been executed. The expected passenger demand is 2.3 million per year between Barcelona and Valencia, with freight traffic representing 13.7% of the total between both cities.