Rail freight in Spain performed slightly better in the second quarter of the year, compared to the first one. However, when it comes to year-on-year trends, data shows how the sector is struggling to get out of a stagnating period.
The Spanish Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) published a report of the performance of rail freight in the second quarter of 2025. The document takes into account, net tonnes (5,58 million), net tonnes/kilometre (2,24 million) and trains/kilometre (5,69 million). The revenue for the sector totalled over 80 million euros.
The intermodal segment is doing slightly better, at least In terms of crude numbers, as it outperformed the full wagon sector in all categories but trains/kilometre. In terms of variations, intermodal performance stagnated both on a quarterly and yearly basis. Block trains, on the other hand, posted small growths in most categories compared to Q1 but its figures are lower than Q2 last year.
Renfe keeps sinking
When analysing single companies, the same trend which characterised the past few years continued during the second quarter of 2025: incumbent Renfe Mercancías keeps losing volumes and private operators such as Captrain and Medway have been constantly gaining ground. However, the state-owned operator remains the king of the jungle. In terms of trains/kilometre Renfe is still moving almost three times more than its closest competitor Captrain.
