The rail freight arm of MSC, Medway, will receive around 30 million euros from the Spanish government in three packages within the NextGenerationEU funds. The funds will be used for the acquisition of wagons and locomotive as well as equipping the latter with the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS)
More specifically, 15 million euros are granted for the acquisition of “electric locomotives for interoperable circulation between Spain and Portugal”. For this operation, Medway planned a total investment of 41.1 million euros. An additional 4.25 million euros are allocated to the installation of ERTMS on 25 locomotives, covering 50% of the total cost. Finally, 10.7 million euros will be used to purchase wagons as part of a 62.35 million euro investment.
Rail highway frequency to double
Obtaining the 30 million euros in government funds was not the only positive development for Medway in the Iberian Peninsula, where it is on a path to becoming the main player. The rail highway service between Valencia and Entrocamento in Portugal will go from one to two weekly roundtrips in September, according to Spanish media El Mercantil. This was supposed to happen in July, but issues connected to infrastructure works convinced the MSC’s subsidiary to postpone.