{"id":386129,"date":"2026-03-13T21:52:22","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T11:52:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=69972"},"modified":"2026-03-13T21:52:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T11:52:22","slug":"spains-key-rail-tunnel-to-france-to-close-for-up-to-seven-weeks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=386129","title":{"rendered":"Spain\u2019s key rail tunnel to France to close for up to seven weeks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rail freight traffic between France and Spain is again set to be significantly disrupted as a result of the closure of the Rubi Tunnel, near Barcelona, from tomorrow, March 14 for up to seven weeks. Major repair work focuses on reinforcing and stabilising the structure which can only be carried out safely if it is closed, Spain rail network manager ADIF said.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>The tunnel was already closed<\/a> for a period of around a fortnight earlier this year, stretching from late January to early February, as a result of extreme weather conditions which caused damage to rail infrastructure. As a direct consequence of its closure, the number of immobilised trains operating on the France-Spain rail corridor at the time – loaded with new vehicles and containers – ran into dozens.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’ve reached a point where the (necessary) works are incompatible with train traffic. This doesn’t mean the structure is going to collapse, but we do want to avoid risks and, more importantly, accelerate and shorten the work period,\u201d \u00c0ngel Con, ADIF\u2019s director of Line Construction, told Spanish media earlier this week.<\/p>\n

Not only France-Spain traffic to be hit<\/h2>\n

A spokesperson for the operator of the Perthus Tunnel, LFP Perthus, which connects France and Spain through the Pyrenees, told RailFreight.com that the tunnel was a strategic point for rail freight traffic, linking the port of Barcelona with the French border and as such its closure would have a significant impact on international rail freight flows.<\/p>\n

Normally, around 80 freight trains a week run on the Perthus Tunnel line. During the closure, a maximum of two outbound and two return trains per day are expected to run -and on some days, even fewer, the spokesperson underlined. \u201cIt should be noted that only trains originating from or bound for the La Llagosta terminal will be able to continue running. All trains originating from or bound for the Port of Barcelona will be cancelled during this period.\u201d<\/p>\n

The spokesperson also emphasised that these rail freight flows do not only concern trade between France and Spain. International trains using this route often originate from and\/or are bound for other European countries, such as Germany, Poland, Belgium or Austria. \u201cThe impact of this closure therefore extends beyond bilateral traffic between France and Spain and more broadly affects international rail traffic between the Iberian Peninsula and the rest of Europe.\u201d The closure of the Rubi Tunnel earlier this year badly affected impact DB Cargo France\u2019s operations \u2013 normally it operates 20 round trips per week between Germany and Spain.<\/p>\n

\u2018Fragility of the infrastructure\u2019<\/h2>\n

Commenting on the closure to come, its president and CEO, Alexandre Gallo, told RailFreight.com: \u201cOur customers are once again severely affected, particularly in road and intermodal transport\u201d and went on to bemoan a lack of information from ADIF.<\/p>\n

He said that for trains bound for Madrid, DB Cargo France is looking into rerouting trains via the Atlantic route. For traffic to Catalonia, several options are being explored, either unloading before the border or reopening the Granollers terminal via a change of axles.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce again, I can only highlight the fragility of this infrastructure, its lack of resilience to climate change, and the need to set up a binational working group to explore all possible resilience solutions, for both freight and passengers,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rail freight traffic between France and Spain is again set to be significantly disrupted as a result of the closure of the Rubi Tunnel, near\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11313,343,471,47],"tags":[12634],"class_list":["post-386129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-in-depth","category-infrastructure","category-news","category-rail-news","tag-railfreight"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t