The port of Barcelona unblocks the development of the largest railway hub in southern Europe

BarcelonaPromoting rail transport should not only reduce the number of passengers traveling by plane, but also take trucks off the roads for freight transport. This is one of the issues that the Port of Barcelona has been trying to address for years. the reactivation Rail and road access is one of the most significant milestones. But it's not just about the trains' entry point; it's also about how they will be managed once inside the infrastructure facilities.

This is where the approval of the urban development master plan (PDU) for the future intermodal logistics terminal comes in. This plan will house the entire rail hub in the southern part of the port, following a negotiation process that has taken longer than expected. "It will be the largest in southern Europe," declared the president of the Port of Barcelona, ​​José Alberto Carbonell, accompanied by the Minister of Territory, Silvia Paneque. Currently, its rail share stands at 12%, although it had reached 16%, with the aim of reaching almost 30%.

Spanning 131 hectares, the rail hub will connect to the Mediterranean corridor and will consist of six rail terminals, mostly for containers. These will serve the port, as well as the Zona Franca industrial park, the Pratenc industrial park, and the industries of the Baix Llobregat region. Two of the terminals are already operational, located around the Best container terminal. The largest will be those developed at the former mouth of the Llobregat River, and another will be built very close to the current Llobregat riverbed, construction of which has already begun.

The investment for the four terminals to be built will be approximately €265 million. The majority of the budget will be provided by the Port of Barcelona. The construction of these new terminals must be completed when the rail access lines become operational, with work scheduled to begin in 2027 and be finished by 2032, if everything proceeds according to plan.

Green spaces

The development of all these terminals must be offset by the creation of new green spaces, including a footbridge connecting the Llobregat agricultural park with Montjuïc Park. The processing of the Urban Development Plan (PDU) has taken four years to finalize the agreement on these new spaces between the various administrations involved, the city councils of El Prat de Llobregat and Barcelona. The document was initially approved at the end of 2022, but since then, no progress has been made on the construction of this infrastructure, which was already included in the Delta Plan in 1994. "All of this has been possible thanks to institutional consensus," Paneque emphasized. In total, more than 24 hectares of green space will be created. A significant portion will be located in the port's service area, and another portion near the urban center of El Prat de Llobregat. The investment, totaling 26 million euros, will be split between the Port Authority and Cilsa, the company that manages the Logistics Activity Zone (ZAL).