EUROPE: Spanish transport ministry MITMA and freight operator RENFE Mercancías are to test the technical and economic viability of transporting Ukrainian grain to Barcelona by rail instead of shipping via the Black Sea routes which have been disrupted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Liners have been installed in 25 standard 40 ft containers, which were then despatched from Madrid to Chełm in southeastern Poland, served by a 1 520 mm gauge cross-border line from Ukraine.
Due to arrive in Chełm in late August, the containers will be filled with a small trial batch of 600 tonnes of grain. They will then be transported 2 400 km to Barcelona Can Tunis via the Kombiverker terminal in Łódź and Duisburg, using 1 435 mm gauge throughout.
