SPAIN: The transport ministry has opened public consultation, running to 21 September, on a draft order for a permanent rail freight subsidy scheme. The scheme replaces the EU-funded eco-incentive and absorbs the existing compensation for capacity restrictions caused by infrastructure works.
The Ministerio de Transportes y Movilidad Sostenible said the draft ministerial order sets the regulatory basis for subsidies to rail freight transport. It follows a preliminary consultation in April and is the last public consultation step before adoption.
The order combines two mechanisms in one budget line: payments for measured reductions in external costs compared with road, and compensation for operators when infrastructure works restrict capacity. Awards will be made by competitive procedure and financed from the ministry’s own budget. The ministry has not stated the amount.
Two mechanisms in one scheme
The first mechanism rewards environmental and socioeconomic merit, measured as the reduction in emissions, congestion, accidents and noise compared with the same traffic by road. The second covers temporary capacity restrictions that significantly affect rail traffic as a consequence of works on the infrastructure.
The Rubí tunnel near Barcelona ran freight on a single track from late April, while emergency reinforcement works continued, until infrastructure manager Adif lifted the remaining restrictions on 7 July. Structural damage had forced a seven-week full closure of the Mediterranean Corridor link before that.
Eligible applicants are freight operators active in Spain. The main operators in the market are state-owned Renfe Mercancías and private operators Captrain España, Continental Rail and Medway.
After three eco-incentive rounds
The eco-incentivo ferroviario ran for three calls under Spain’s Recovery and Resilience Facility programme. The new order draws on that scheme and on the existing order for aid during extraordinary traffic disruptions.
The ministry places the scheme within the Estrategia de Movilidad Segura, Sostenible y Conectada 2030 and the Mercancías 30 plan. It says the order is meant to be permanent and to raise rail’s share of freight.
Adoption timetable open
Adoption of the order and a first call will follow the consultation. The ministry has given no timetable for either.
Germany is cutting the federal subsidy that holds down freight track charges, raising operators’ costs. Sweden has decided to reduce its freight track charges by 20% from 2028.