The Port Authority of Valencia (PAV) has announced technical and administrative specifications for a tender to double track and build a third railway line connecting the Poniente and Levante ports in the Port of Valencia.
Once up and running, the new line will allow the access of 750-metre long freight trains to the Levante Railway Terminal on double mixed track and eliminate the single track section existing at present.
This expansion of rails aims to increase APM Terminals (APMT)’s access and accommodates more trains inside the port, facilitating convoys to the upcoming rail highway and Valencia Terminal Europa (VTE).
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This development is part of Valenciaport’s railway strategy, a plan that encourages the use of railways and has resulted in an increase in train traffic in recent years, accounting for approximately 8 per cent of total products entering and exiting Valencian ports.
According to PAV, this project is financed with funds from the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.
The tender has been put out for an amount of €12 million ($13 million), with a completion period of 18 months.
Valenciaport noted that the bids’ primary objectives are to meet the levels of capacity, operability, connectivity, and safety required by the anticipated traffic growth. Furthermore, it proposes to allow railway operation on both Iberian and international gauges, as well as electric traction, in order to promote environmental sustainability.
In December 2023, PAV approved in an Extraordinary Board of Directors meeting the specifications that comprise the legal and economic criteria for the tender of the new terminal.
More recently, PAV and VTE signed an agreement governing the construction, operation, and maintenance of a photovoltaic infrastructure.
