Taking the strain

New train route will take 48,000 lorries off the road

SPAIN is to get a new rail ‘superhighway’ aimed at taking 48,000 lorries off the roads. At the moment just 5% of goods are moved by train, compared to the European average of 20%.

But that is set to change as a new rail service between Algeciras and Zaragoza is put into action.

The public-private project will see a 1,074-kilometre route operating between the city in Cadiz province, which is home to the country’s main port, and the capital of Aragon, which is set to become a national hub for logistics.

At the moment, the vast majority of goods arriving in Algeciras are hauled away by lorries. The new rail link will take 48,000 lorries off the roads annually on the routes north from the Anda-

From oil to biofuel

AN old oil refinery in Huelva has been converted to produce biofuels, capable of reducing CO2 emissions by 90%.

Cepsa says that the upgraded facility is now capable of producing a sustainable diesel fuel, called hydrobiodiesel, from vegetable oil, vegetable waste and animal fats not intended for human consumption (sandach).

The plant was originally made to remove sulphur from mineral oil.

By Simon Hunter

lucian port. This is expected to dramatically decrease pollution: the forecast is a reduction of 9,000 tons of CO2 emissions.

The plan is for three services to run daily in each direction. Each train will have capacity for 30 wagons, which will be loaded with shipping containers. The Spanish Cabinet has authorised contracts worth

€45.5 million to refurbish signage on two new routes of the conventional rail network, to prepare them for this new train highway. The lines between Ariza and

Calatayud, and Guadalajara and Ariza, will be the first to get a spruce up. The total investment for the project is expected to run to €85 million.

Farm To Fuel

OIL giant Repsol is joining forces with agricultural organisation ASAJA to transform agricultural and livestock waste into renewable fuels. They will pool their expertise to search for ways to improve the management of agricultural and livestock by-products in rural and sparsely populated areas where logistics can be a major obstacle. Repsol will analyse the potential to use farming waste and slurry as raw materials to make renewable fuels.

And on the flip side, Repsol will examine the possibility of reuse of by-products from the refining industry as fertilisers to increase agricultural yield and productivity.

Berta Cabello, Repsol’s Director of Renewable Fuels, explained: “Agriculture and livestock are key sectors in Spain. At Repsol, we are working with them to develop the rural economy and transform the by-products of this activity into renewable and circular fuels and materials, which in turn can be reused in the sector.”