LEASING company VTG has announced the delivery of 399 new intermodal wagons to Spain. They have been acquired as part of a project to develop intermodal services in the Iberian Peninsula, with a particular focus on piggyback services moving unaccompanied lorry semi-trailers by rail.
Developed specifically for operation on Iberian 1668mm gauge, the new fleet includes 80ft and 90ft wagons designed to carry all types of containers, as well as a significant number of T4000 double pocket wagons for semi-trailers. Each pocket is 2.7m wide and can accommodate semi-trailers up 15.1m in length, with a height-adjustable trailer hitch enabling faster loading and unloading.
The T4000 can also be equipped with the basket system developed by R2L Roadlink of Austria, enabling non-craneable semi-trailers to be carried by rail.
VTG says that the project has been financed with Next Generation EU funding, through the Spanish Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility’s Sustainable and Digital Transport Support Programme (PATSYD). This forms part of the national Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR).
According to official programme documents, VTG received a grant covering a significant portion of the cost of acquiring the new piggyback wagons. The project has cost over €75m in total, and has received more than €37m in public funding.
Plans to develop piggyback services in Spain are gaining momentum, with national operator Renfe also announcing significant investment in new wagons, supported by Next Generation EU funding to accelerate the decarbonisation of freight transport.
