Thales will upgrade rail capacity at the Spanish port of Huelva

Published on 18-04-2023 at 10:19

French tech company Thales won the tender for the development of new functionalities for the security installations of the railway terminals at the port of Huelva, in southwestern Spain. According to the company, this project will increase infrastructure capacity by automating various procedures and include the installation of a new safety system.

More specifically, Thales will integrate a new Centralised Traffic Control (CTC) system, automate track gates in the port area, and implement a new light and sound signals system for level crossings. The project will be carried out in two years. The CTC system is Thales’ CTC1000, which allows for automatic train identification, digital alarms management, and the monitoring and remote operation of interlockings. Moreover, the new system generates reports about timetables, failures, and delay causes.

The port of Huelva

The port of Huelva, operated mainly by Spanish national rail freight company Renfe Mercancias, is one of the Core Ports of the TEN-T Atlantic Corridor in the Iberian Peninsula. From there, the corridor extends via sea to Tenerife and Gran Canaria. Moreover, its proximity to Sevilla grants it access to the TEN-T Mediterranean Corridor. Huelva is one of the busiest ports in Spain and the second port in Andalusia, behind Algeciras.

Among other recent rail projects at the port, the installation of a third track at the Muelle Sur rail terminal was announced in October. This initiative aims at boosting the modal shift from road to rail on the Huelva-Madrid-Zaragozza axis. Moreover, in November, the Renfe Mercancias increased its connections to the port of Huelva, from 48 to 58 per week. At the end of 2021, Thales delivered a new command and control facility for the railway network at the port.

Thales in Spain

As Thales mentioned, the company already has experience with Spanish ports, having worked on the ports of Sevilla, among others, over the past few years. At the port of Sevilla, the company developed a new concept for the operation and automation of rail maneuvers inside the port in 2021.

Thales has also worked on upgrading rail terminals in Spain. In 2014, the French company implemented new signalling, safety, and communications systems at the Pancorbo rail terminal, south of the port of Bilbao. More recently, in June 2022, Thales was awarded the contract for the upgrade of the logistics platform in Vitoria-Gasteiz, always south of Bilbao.

Also read: