Renfe: €122m to improve rail freight in Spain

Renfe: €122m to improve rail freight in Spain

RailFreight.com — 2023-01-06

Land transportation

Spanish national railway company Renfe will invest €122,7m for the improvement of the rail freight transportation system. The funds will be used to acquire new, greener, rolling stock and to implement new technologies on the Spanish fleet.

More specifically, the program entails the acquisition of new rail platforms and wagons as well as high-capacity electric locomotives. According to Renfe, these locomotives will be fully powered by electricity of 100% renewable origin. Moreover, the company stated that part of the investment will be allocated to the provision of the ERTMS security system and the installation of noise reduction systems on wagons. New technologies will be also implemented for the identification and traceability of rolling stock.

Partly financed by the EU with a deadline for 2025

As Renfe stated, €37,3m, which equals 30% of the total investment, will be financed by the Support Program for Sustainable and Digital Transport. This program was launched by the Spanish Ministry of Transport, Mobility, and Urban Agenda. It is part of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan funded by the European Union’s NextGenerationEU. “The awarding of the specific projects will take place before the end of the first half of this year and must be completed by 31 December 2025”, as Renfe pointed out.