The Port of Castellón in the east of Spain is testing a rail freight service connecting to Zaragoza Logistics Centre (ZAL), a key logistics hub in the most industrialised area of Spain. It is an alternative to the railway connection with Valencia, the main city in the region, as this corridor is heavily congested.

The new service consists of three trains weekly and is carrying only empty shipping containers for Maersk, which operates a terminal in Zaragoza. The Port Authority wants to include freight traffic from the regions of Aragon, where an Opel factory is situated and La Rioja, where the most prestigious Spanish wine brands have their cellars and vineyards.

Export of ceramic tile

The Port of Castellón handled 17 million tonnes of goods in 2016, of which 3.22 million tonnes were container shipped (226,903 TEUs). It plays a key role in the export of ceramic tile, an important export product for Spain. In 2016, the turnover from export ceramic tile was 3.3 billion euros, which represented 78 per cent of the total market share. The port was founded in 1906 in order to export, mainly, ceramic tiles and oranges. The Port of Valencia is one of the most important in southern Europe. It handled 4.8 million TEUs in 2016. However, the current railway congestion in Valencia has blockaded freight business.