The Barcelona Can Tunis Intermodal Terminal receives its first railway convoy
The arrival of the convoy operated by COMSA, which carries a load of 30 mobile boxes of 45 feet, demonstrates the suitability of the Barcelona Can Tunis Intermodal Terminal as a logistics hub for operations that need to integrate different track widths (UIC and Iberian) , as well as the Mediterranean Corridor gateway with the European rail network.
The train of 450 meters of length, made its entrance in the facilities of Barcelona Can Tunis through a track of mixed width embedded in concrete located next to the intermodal module. This type of infrastructure is expressly designed to facilitate transverse operations and minimize cargo loading and unloading times.
Work done in record time
In this way, the handling and storage of the 720 tons of cargo carried by the convoy could be carried out in a period of time less than usual in a conventional installation.
The Barcelona Can Tunis Intermodal Terminal is the first operational logistic node in the Spanish section of the Mediterranean Corridor, which can absorb all traffic between Spain and the rest of Europe as well as the interior of the Peninsula, with no need to make any changes in Portbou (French border). This feature allows convoys to be integrated into the European rail network.
A unique intermodal terminal: cost savings, energy and emission reductions
The Barcelona Can Tunis Intermodal Terminal stands out because it allows to carry the rail transport of the merchandise in European width to Barcelona and from there to distribute the cargo to the hinterland of the city.
At the same time, from this point the cargo can be redirected to the rest of the national territory by train in Iberian width. This differentiating feature of the Alonso Group’s terminal is to save customers both cost and energy as well as a reduction in pollutant emissions by railroading the 180 kilometers separating Barcelona from the French border.
The operation coincides with the start-up of a new locomotive
For this reason it has been the platform chosen to carry out the start of a new Euro 4000 locomotive from the Stadler Rail factory in Albuixech (Valencia). The locomotive has been transported by road to the facilities of Barcelona Can Tunis where, after a delicate unloading and assembly operation, it has been placed on an international track (UIC).
Once on the rails, the locomotive has been able to embark on the road to its final destination in France, where it will provide service for the railway operator VFLI.
