Spain will finish construction works on a rail terminal in Valladolid by 2026. The works will provide the city with a freight terminal, a rail technology centre and a maintenance hub. The project will turn Valladolid into a major rail hub on the TEN-T Atlantic Corridor.

Spanish railway infrastructure administrator Adif put out a tender for construction contracts amounting to almost 72 million euros in June 2023. It awarded the contracts for the final stages of the project in December, with a final amount of slightly over 60 million euros. If all goes according to plan, the construction works will last for another 27 months. Spain eyes a summer 2026 opening for the new hub on the TEN-T Atlantic Corridor.

The project aims to turn Valladolid into a major rail and innovation hub, only second in northern Spain after Zaragoza. The rail hub will include a freight terminal, a rail technology centre as well as a maintenance hub. The rail technology centre is to be managed by Redalsa, an Adif subsidiary. Additionally, the 230,000-square-metre complex will feature seven tracks to facilitate 750-metre trains.

Bypass already under construction

Currently, construction is ongoing for a railway that bypasses Valladolid on its eastern side. The ‘Eastern Variant’ standard gauge railway will channel freight trains on the Madrid-Hendaye (France) line. The Eastern Variant will also link up to the new rail hub.

Subsequently, the new rail hub allows the city to move its spread-out rail facilities to a concentrated area outside of the city. Freight trains will also no longer need to run through the city’s urban Campo Grande station, speeding up both freight and passenger traffic around the city.

Also read:

• Spain: 72 million euros for a new rail freight terminal in Valladolid
• Valladolid is one step closer to become a Spanish rail freight hub