Renfe Mercancías has announced plans to invest 122.7 million EUR (128.74m USD) into the decarbonisation and digitisation of freight rail in Spain.
Just shy of a third of this (30%) will come from the Support Programme for Sustainable and Digital Transport of MITMA (Secretary of State for Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda), within the framework of the Plan Recovery, Transformation and Resilience (PRTR), funded by the European Union NextGenerationEU.
The end goal is to make freight rail in Spain more competitive and sustainable – further improving rail’s standing as the most eco-friendly form of transport.
The money will be used to add new high power, fully electric locomotives to the Renfe Mercancías fleet, as well as platforms and wagons that will transport goods along railway highways.
To date, the operator has ordered 12 such locomotives from Stadler, four of which were delivered in September.
These will ensure the operator can make the most of new infrastructure such as the Pajares bypass, by providing greater load capacity and better levels of reliability, in turn improving freight rail efficiency.
Funds will also go towards installing noise reduction systems in wagons, ERTMS in locomotives and new rolling stock identification and traceability solutions.
Freight transport centres will also undergo process optimisation and digitisation.
Project grants will be awarded during the first half of this year and works must be completed before the end of 2025.
