September 12, 2022

Spain to attempt moving grain from Ukraine by train

   
Spain's Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (Mitma) launched a pilot project to transport grain by train from Ukraine to Spain as an alternative or complement to the maritime mode of delivery.

Renfe Mercancías had sent 25 40-foot containers to the Polish-Ukrainian border to transport 600 tonnes of Ukrainian corn to Spain. The containers have been fitted with ‘liners', special large bags for transporting the grain.

The project is a pilot test with which the ministry seeks to demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of rail transport of grain through the rail freeway that crosses Europe from Lodz, Poland, to Barcelona Can Tunis, Spain.

The first steps of the pilot project coincide with the reopening of the Black Sea ports and the grain maritime routes supervised by Turkey, as the war in Ukraine continues. A test trip will be made with 600 tonnes of corn, a smaller volume than initially committed, but still important to test the feasibility of a rail solution to support maritime transport.

- MITMA (Spain)