Renfe, the Spanish state-owned railway operator, has formed a consortium with German companies Deutsche Bahn (DB) and Duisport to bid for the management of the freight terminal in La Llagosta, Catalonia. The three companies will form a temporary business union (UTE) if they win the tender, which was put out by Adif and closed on April 12.
Kombiverkehr, a subsidiary of DB and one of Europe's leading container transporters is also part of the consortium, as is Duisport, one of Europe's most important intermodal transport managers. If the consortium is successful, the companies will start operating the La Llagosta terminal in the first half of 2025, with an operating period of 20 years, which can be extended to 40 years depending on the investment. Renfe will have a 50% stake, while Kombiverkehr and Duisport will each have a 25% stake. This would allow the companies to manage a strategic terminal and open up new opportunities for introducing new traffic to the rail network, as well as increasing the length of trains from the current average of 550 meters to 740 meters.
The La Llagosta terminal has an intermodal loading area of 85,200 square meters, with four 740-meter loading/unloading tracks and five 740-meter tracks for technical installations, all with three lanes (Iberian and UIC gauge) for the provision of UTI handling services or other logistics-related services. The terminal has both Iberian and international gauges and is located in a privileged position on the Mediterranean corridor.
