Rail freight traffic along the Zaragoza-Barcelona axis, in northeastern Spain, is currently under strain due to gauge adaptation works around the Roda de Berà tunnel. The disruptions are expected to last until March 2025, since alternative routes cannot take up all the volumes.

The alternative lines implemented by the Spanish infrastructure manager Adif are the Lleida-Valls line, the Zaragoza-Mora-Reys railway and the section between Valls and Alcover. However, these routes can accommodate shorter trains, between 450 and 500 metres. Moreover, trains rerouted via Valls-Alcover will have to do an additional manoeuvre in Espluga de Francolí, as Adif specified.

Longer, more expensive journeys

These disruptions are costly for rail operators both in terms of money and time. The alternative routes are usually longer than the ones used in normal conditions. Moreover, reducing the length of trains will also mean fewer wagons and additional manoeuvres translate into higher costs, as Juan Diego Pedrero, President of the Spanish Association of Private Railway Companies said.

In an interview with Spanish media, Pedrero highlighted that, despite the availability of alternative routes, some trains have to be cancelled. This is especially true for what he called ‘special trains’ which are formed for specific and punctual needs of the shippers. “These are totally cancelled, they are not accepted”, Pedrero claimed.

Standard gauge along the Mediterranean Corridor

The project concerning the tunnel in Roda de Berà is part of the migration from the Iberian to the standard gauge along the TEN-T Mediterranean Corridor. There already is a standard gauge connection from Barcelona into France, which is now being extended to Zaragoza. This is an important axis for the Spanish rail freight industry and, with the gauge change, its international relevance is expected to rise as well. The adaptation of the Roda de Berà tunnel, which implies the laying of a third, mixed gauge track, will cost 16 million euros, Adif said.