MSC’s rail freight subsidiary Medway complains about network limitations in Portugal. The operator accuses infrastructure manager Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP) of “seriously endangering the company’s economic sustainability”. The operator owes more than €18 million in track access charges accumulated during the last three years to IP, which are being paid off in instalments.
Last July, Medway’s chairman Carlos Vasconcelos complained to IP’s leader Paulo Carmona about the state of the railway network. Vasconcelos argued that investments in the railway network should increase its capacity and efficiency “rather than continuously degrade it, affecting operators, alienating customers, and risking the modal transfer and decarbonisation goals assumed by the country”.
Vasconcelos explained that Medway’s activity decreased by 13% since April “with a 27% productivity loss” while the activity costs increased at the same rate, according to Portuguese reports.
Vasconcelos’ complaint comes at a time when there are further delays in the opening of the Portuguese new Southern TEN-T Corridor (Évora–Elvas–Caia). It will only operate at the end of 2027 due to certification issues. The railway is suffering from theft and certification challenges.
Capacity constraints
Freight traffic has faced several constraints lately, since the start of the Vendas Novas line modernisation works. That line allows goods to move from the south to the centre and the north of Portugal, given the capacity limitations of the 25 de Abril bridge in Lisbon.
In the present scenario, freight trains must use the Leste rail track, from Entroncamento to Elvas, which is not electrified and requires more time and kilometres.
Despite “recognising the constraints of executing a significant amount of works” simultaneously in the railway network, IP argues to Público that it keeps a “constant dialogue” with the railway operators. It also says that it is “willing to analyse the raised concerns together in a proper place”. IP adds that these works “have been demanded by the freight operators for a very long time”, since they are meant to permit 750-metre-long trains.
Medway’s debt to IP
However, in parallel, Medway owes IP a total of €18.7 million in track access charges (TAC) from the period 2023-2025. This amount represents almost 70% of the unpaid charges to the Portuguese rail infrastructure manager, which amounted to €27.1 million at the end of 2025, according to IP’s yearly report. Despite owing 70% of the unpaid charges, Medway only has a rail freight market share of 11.5%.
The operator has not paid TACs since disagreeing with the charges for the period 2024-2026, the Portuguese government clarified to a parliamentarian from the communist PCP party.
Medway is already paying the indebted amount “through a payment plan, which is being fulfilled depending on its cash flow possibilities”, explains Miguel Rebelo de Sousa, executive director of rail freight assocation APEF, to RailFreight.com. This solution has also been used in the past, follows from a parliamentary clarification.
Limit increase not enough
Even with the reduced increases in the track access charges introduced last March, APEF insists on a broader intervention from the Portuguese Government. “The solution adopted still decreases the railway competitiveness, since the operators and the market are paying for a worse network simultaneously with works on its main axles. This situation reduces the capacity and the railway efficiency as a whole”, complains Miguel Rebelo de Sousa.
In the last two years, APEF submitted two complaints to the Transport and Mobility Authority (AMT). In February 2025, the association contested the penalty interest applied by IP to the unpaid TACs from January 2024, since AMT had not approved them at that time.
Last March, APEF complained about the amended network statement and the limited track access charges. It argued that the updated prices were “still hurting the competitiveness of the railway freight operators” compared to the measures introduced to support the road freight companies after the storms at the beginning of 2026.
In both proceedings, AMT rejected the APEF claims. The authority stated that the track access charges represent more than 50% of IP’s own revenues for rail network management. This was said to be key to funding the maintenance of the Portuguese rail network.