In 2020, the Zaragoza terminal, belonging to the CSP Spain group, managed to increase the rail services it operated in 2019. This container terminal handled automotive, agricultural import/export, and refrigerated cargo, as well as a large amount of merchandise for the fight against COVID-19 in the form of PPE and medical equipment.
During the year, in addition to the usual origin/destination operations such as the port of Valencia, Bilbao, Vigo, Barcelona, the town of Madrid or Selgua, transports to the Port of Tarragona and the Port of Algeciras have been added.
In addition, the terminal has welcomed new rail services such as Madrid-Zaragoza-Bilbao and additional rotations to the existing international train between Portugal and Zaragoza.
La localización geoestratégica de la terminal, así como su capacidad operativa son los ejes principales que el grupo CSP Spain apuesta por explotar en aras de facilitar la conectividad ferroviaria de Aragón con los puertos españoles y trabajar de la mano de Presidente Lambán, quien en declaraciones recientes aseguró que, el primer tren de ferroutage se operaría en breve, en la terminal ferroviaria del polígono PLA-ZA.
The versatility of the intermodal terminal has allowed it to remain the only one in Aragon capable of handling trains transporting swap bodies. This versatility is made possible by its specialized machinery and the experience of its staff.
Thanks to this, the CSP Spain group’s terminal in Zaragoza is the first terminal in Aragon with the capacity to handle rail transport cargo in its ferroutage modality in P-400 mode.
CSP Iberian Zaragoza Terminal has conducted numerous tests related to this type of cargo and in November of this year announced its full readiness to handle this type of traffic immediately. To this end, it collaborated with major Aragonese transport companies such as the Sesé Logistics Group and Marcotrans, who are very interested in this new mode of transport that has been operating in Europe for years.
The terminal is now ready to offer this service to any intermodal transport operator that runs trains in this mode and requires loading/unloading services in Aragon. This was confirmed to ADIF and the Aragonese Government (through APL) in the fall of 2020.
This also demonstrates CSP Spain’s commitment to operations that contribute to eco-efficiency and reduce the social costs of road freight transport. It’s worth noting that operating rail freight services allows approximately 30 trucks loaded onto trains to be diverted from the road, thus reducing CO2 emissions and road accidents. Furthermore, it facilitates work-life balance for drivers, a challenge they face today.
It also responds to the operational needs raised by Aragón Plataforma Logística (APL), ADIF and the Port Authority of the Port of Algeciras (among others), regarding the need to operate in this mode of rail transport as an alternative response to road traffic of trucks originating and destined for the North Maghreb that pass through this Spanish port, crossing Spain.
It should be noted that the number of trucks embarking on ships that connect the port of Algeciras with the Maghreb crossed the Strait of Gibraltar increased by 2% in 2020 (374,000 trucks compared to 368,000 in 2019), and that all of them travel on the Spanish road network, generating the aforementioned social costs (CO2 emissions, accidents, etc.).
CSPZ confirmed to both ADIF and APL its ability to operate up to three trains daily in ferroutage mode, which would represent the management of about 180 trucks daily at said terminal.
