Economic agents and institutions meet in the Port for the FERRMED conference on the rail node for the Corridor in Tarragona

Dock Shed 1 on the Moll de Costa dock in the Port of Tarragona was the scene of the FERRMED Conference "The railway node in the Tarragona area and its links with the Mediterranean Corridor" yesterday, with some 200 people attending. The event brought together a broad representation of the region’s institutions and economic agents.

FERRMED organised this event with the aim of demonstrating the importance of this rail node, defining the traffic potential and pinpointing what needs to be done, stage by stage, to get the rail network operating fully in this major area of the Mediterranean Corridor.

The opening ceremony was attended by the mayor of the city of Tarragona, Josep Felix Ballesteros; the chairman of Tarragona Provincial Council, Josep Poblet; the Secretary of Infrastructures and Mobility of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Ricard Font; the Coordinator of the Mediterranean Corridor, Juan Barios, the chairman of the Port of Tarragona, Josep Andreu; the chairman of Foment del Treball Nacional, Joaquim Gay Montellà; the chairman of the Tarragona Chemical Business Association; Josep Francesc Font; representing the European Commission, Pawel Stelmaszczyk; and the chairman of FERRMED, Joan Amorós.

In his address, the Generalitat de Catalunya’s secretary of Infrastructures and Mobility set out the challenges for the region over the next few years in terms of infrastructure, highlighting the importance of the Mediterranean Corridor and the organisation of the services that will pass through this Corridor. He also highlighted "the challenge of digitising our country’s logistics" and how the delay of key infrastructure projects goes against the development of the economy.

In turn, Pawel Stelmaszczyk stated that "Tarragona is very important for the Mediterranean Corridor, a key location" and stressed the important role of the coordinator of the Corridor as an independent figure "for coordinating investments and solving problems".
For his part, Joaquim Gay Montellà cited the figure of 4% railway share in the total for freight transport, and has called for this rail quota to be increased via the Mediterranean Corridor.

The chairman of the AEQT, Josep Francesc Font, stressed the constant increase in demand in the chemical sector and the large scale of the chemical site infrastructure in the area that, "added to the geostrategic position of the region and the synergies between the chemical sector, the Port and the area make for a suitable location for the sustainability of our sector" where the connection with the standard gauge track is a basic requirement for economic development.

The chairman of the Tarragona Provincial Council, Josep Poblet stressed that "the national government should devote resources and give priority to the incentives needed to transform the potential of our region into a reality of economic growth, job creation and development of the Mediterranean arc as a whole. A special treatment has to be acknowledged”.

The mayor of Tarragona, Josep Felix Ballesteros, reiterated the need to continue with the Mediterranean Corridor and insisted that "we want to take advantage of our opportunities, in terms of goods and passengers in the area. We want technical specifics, as well as those of dates and investment, and we want the Mediterranean Corridor to become a reality in 3 to 5 years at most".

Lastly, the chairman of FERRMED, Joan Amorós emphasised that "the TEN-T Network has more than 6,000 km, and it is in the Mediterranean Corridor where there is the most economic activity, as is the case of Tarragona". In addition, the chairman of FERRMED called for a clear work schedule “rather than forecasts that fail to be met”.