The Port Authority of Valencia (PAV) will invest €240 million ($284.7 million) in railway upgrades as it looks to improve the flow of trade at Valenciaport and the Port of Sagunto.
In a statement, PAV said its aim is to encourage freight as a means of transporting goods. Specifically, at Valenciaport it will spend €125.5 million ($148.3 million) to improve rail accessibility, which will include the remodelling of the Prince Felipe quay track bed and adaption to international gauge.
It will also spend €45.4 million ($58.3 million) on remodelling the railway network between the Poninete and Costa docks and outlay €15 million ($17.8 million) on developing the Fuente de San Luis terminal.
Improvements at the Port of Sagunto will cost €97.6 million ($115.8 million) and will include €33 million ($39.1 million) to upgrade the Sagunto-Teruel-Zaragoza line and nearby Plateau logistics area and €12 million ($14.2 million) for the road and rail modifications as part of the Sagunto Master Plan works.
Aurelio Martínez, President of the PAV, said, “For Valenciaport, the train is basic and fundamental because for years we have been building a port of reference in the Mediterranean based on intermodality.
“The railway is key in our present and future strategy because it allows us to reduce costs in the logistics chain, to improve the services we offer in the terminals and to take loads off the road and put them on the railways.
“Lorries will always be the benchmark for agility, accessibility and ductility, but rail will allow us to improve connectivity with our peninsular hinterland, connecting it with the main industrial centres.
“The train fits in our decarbonisation route and in our Plan 2030, zero emissions, and we are going to focus a great part of our investment effort on it.”
