Railsider Mediterráneo is strengthening its commitment to intermodality and rail development with the aim of turning its terminal in Portbou (Girona) into Spain’s largest multiproduct platform.
The company already has facilities at this border location with France comprising three 235-metre internal tracks with UIC and Iberian gauges, and an 8,000 m² warehouse equipped with overhead cranes, where steel products are currently the main goods handled.
“We are particularly excited about turning Portbou into Spain’s largest multiproduct terminal. We would like to reach an agreement with Adif to make this possible, as discussions regarding the Mediterranean Corridor do not always highlight the key role that rail terminals play as freight catalysts".
Pablo Antolín, managing director of Railsider Mediterráneo
The company believes that Portbou could become a reference point in railway development, capable of bringing a significant volume of goods to the rail network thanks to the existing infrastructure. In this regard, Railsider is hopeful that in the coming years a UIC gauge connection with the rest of Spain can be established beyond the Le Perthus route, whose capacity is expected to be limited in the medium term.
Railsider Mediterráneo has recently adapted its terminal in Sagunto to the European gauge, a process already implemented in Portbou and set to be completed in Barcelona by the end of 2025. This will make it the first Spanish operator with all its facilities connected to Europe via UIC gauge, enabling direct train operations and maximising added value for its clients.
In addition, a certified workshop for preventive wagon maintenance will be set up in Sagunto, with the aim of reducing both downtime and the costs associated with transferring wagons to other repair centres.
Sagunto remains one of the company’s main operational hubs on the Mediterranean Corridor, with goods linked to the ports of Valencia and Sagunto, as well as to steel producers and processors. In 2024, the terminal handled a total of 327 trains, an increase of 7.6% compared to the previous year. The volume of goods by rail and road reached 414,400 tonnes, a 52.7% increase over 2023.
Among the standout services is the palletised cargo route between Spain and Germany, connecting Sagunto with the company’s warehouse in Perpignan, from where 1,500 wagons carrying goods such as wine, alcoholic beverages and paper were managed. Railsider remains committed to the ceramics industry, to which it aims to offer an efficient and competitive intermodal solution.
