The Jundiz Intermodal Terminal is the first facility in Spain connected to the TEN-T Atlantic Corridor with a standard gauge. The country’s infrastructure manager Adif is now looking for an operator for the next six years.
The minimum offer to get the prize is around 1,4 million euros. After the six years, the contract can be extended for up to 20 years depending on investments, according to Spanish media outlets. The terminal will be the starting point of the rail freight link going from Jundiz (and thus Bilbao) to Bordeaux, in France.
Multi-million upgrade
The terminal in Jundiz is part of the 95-million-euro upgrade of the hubs in Vitoria-Gasteiz near the port of Bilbao, 37 of which have already been deployed. Currently, the terminal has two mixed-gauge tracks measuring 600 meters and one for 460-meter trains. The upgrade will create four tracks of 740 metres, enabling the handling of long trains in standard gauge.
Whoever will get the job, will manage 55,000 square metres of intermodal surface, including a slab area to handle intermodal transport units (ITUs), three buffered electrified tracks and road access. Initially, the terminal will have the capacity to handle 50,000 ITUs every year, while it will increase to 170,000 once new gantry cranes are installed.