The Spanish Ministry of Transport tasked engineering company Ineco to carry out a feasibility study for the construction of a new rail freight terminal just outside the port of Algeciras. This initiative is part of the project to launch the Algeciras-Zaragoza rolling highway.

Once the study is over, the design project for the new facility will be drafted. The need for a new terminal serving Spain’s largest port in Algeciras comes from the fact that the current rail infrastructure within the port does not allow the handling of longer trains and cannot be expanded.

The new terminal will also have a new, independent rail connection to the port. “This will result in minimal interference of freight trains entering or leaving the Port with the rest of the railway traffic”, the Ministry explained. The study launched by Spain will cost a little over 280,000 and will last for 16 months, until the end of 2025. Once the study is over, the design project for the new facility will be drafted.

Algeciras-Zaragoza rolling highway

One of the main projects for boosting rail connectivity to and from the port of Algeciras is the launch of the Algeciras-Zaragoza rolling highway, which will enable the rail transport of semi-trailers between the two destinations. Spain is investing significantly in upgrading the line, mostly adapting tunnels and overpasses to the 4-metre profile. Despite these efforts, the opening of the rolling highway, initially planned for the end of 2024, has been indefinitely postponed.