• The round table was part of the activity ‘Promoting rail for the decarbonisation of transport’.
  • The Ministry of Public Works, the Spanish Transport Association and other experts accompanied Transfesa Logistics participation.

Transfesa Logistics, through its Sustainability Manager, Isabel Núñez, participated in the round table ‘Challenges and opportunities for rail freight transport’ at CONAMA 2022.

The acceleration of the modal shift from road to rail, in order to decarbonise freight transport, was the main topic discussed at the conference. Despite the liberalisation of the sector, the share of rail freight transport is below 5%. The objective of the Goods 30 initiative is to reach 10% by 2030, while the European average is 19%.

Road transport is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in Spain, responsible for 26.8% of the national total. The promotion of rail will be an essential solution to achieve modal shift. During the CONAMA, this committee debated, among other issues, the need for a greater use of the existing network or an improvement of infrastructures in order to promote the train as the main means of transport.

During the round table, Isabel Núñez stressed: “In a context where climate change is one of the greatest threats to humanity, the planet and the economy, it is essential to understand where we must direct our efforts to curb this crisis. The transport sector has a leading role in this problem, but also an unparalleled opportunity to reverse this situation thanks to the railways, whose growth is a key element to achieve this objective”.

Other relevant personalities and experts of the railway sector such as Juan de Dios Sánchez Bobi from the Centre for Research in Railway Technologies, Josep Vicent Boira, Government Commissioner for the development of the Mediterranean Corridor in Spain, or Carmelo Garrido, member of the Board of Directors of the EAT (Spanish Transport Association) have been part of this key round table to put on the map the importance of the decarbonisation of freight transport.