The government of Catalonia has announced plans to build four new rail freight terminals. Around a week after the announcement, the first one of these terminals is facing opposition. Local parties do not want the terminal in their neighbourhood. They fear that the area will serve as merely a logistical and industrial zone for the rest of Catalonia.
The terminal plan, originally revealed in June, covers four sites: Empordà in the northeast near the French border, Penedès between Barcelona and Tarragona, Terres de l’Ebre in the south, and Lleida in western Catalonia.
Local organisations in Penedès are now planning to take to the streets to stop the plan, write local media. They fear that the 20 to 30-hectare facility will turn the area into just a transit and consolidation location for containers from Barcelona and Tarragona.
The Pro Vegueria Penedès association, for instance, argues that Catalonia should not build all its infrastructure between the local highway and the coast. The terminal would impact commuter rail lines and local residents, it says. Moreover, they oppose the movement of hazardous goods on rail in the area. An earlier logistics hub project, Logis Penedès, was abandoned due to similar opposition.
Rather, the Pro Vegueria Penedès calls for the separation of freight from passenger traffic on the east-west railway through Catalonia. This should help decongest the route. Additionally, the local political party ERC laments a lack of clarity on the environmental, territorial, economic, and infrastructure impacts of Catalonia’s plan.
From 4% to 21% rail freight modal share?
The Catalan government previously argued that the infrastructure investments are necessary in order to boost the share of rail in freight transportation. Catalonia currently has one of the lowest rail freight shares in Europe, according to the government’s economic and social impact assessment.
Rail accounted for just 3.94% of inland freight in 2024, with only 8.1 million tonnes of around 337 million tonnes transported by land moving by rail. The terminal plan could boost this to around 21%, says the Catalan government.
Terminal capacity remains one of the key modal shift bottlenecks according to the government. The terminal in Empordà would strengthen rail-road intermodal connections close to the French border, while Penedès is intended to act as a major consolidation and distribution hub between the ports of Barcelona and Tarragona. Terres de l’Ebre would connect southern Catalonia with the Mediterranean Corridor, while Lleida would support freight flows from the inland industrial and agricultural economy.