Port accessAndima Ormaetxe, Director of Operations, Commerce, Logistics and Strategy of the Port Authority of Bilbao, will participate on 22 February in the conference “Development of rail-port corridors with Madrid, Central Iberian Logistics Hub”, to be held at the headquarters of the Official Association of Industrial Engineers of Madrid. The event will bring together leading representatives of the sector to analyse the current situation of intermodal freight traffic, and to assess the next steps to be taken to improve the network of rail-port corridors in Spain.
Specifically, Mr. Ormaetxe will take part, within the block dedicated to ports and rail freight corridors, in the round table entitled “Rail-port services with the Iberian Central Hub”, which will also feature Jordi Torrent, Head of Strategy of the Port of Barcelona; Jaime Beltrán, Head of the Business and Commercial Development Area of the Port of Huelva; Joan Borràs, Head of Port Planning Area of the Port of Tarragona; and Mar Chao, President of the Port of Valencia.
During the event, organised by El Canal Marítimo y Logístico and the Official Association of Industrial Engineers of Madrid, experts and professionals in logistics, freight transport, the railway sector and the port sector will also discuss topics such as the situation of logistics and intermodal platforms in the centre of the peninsula and the current development of freight railway corridors and the Central Iberian Corridor.
Bilbao, an intermodal port
The Port of Bilbao is strategically located on the Atlantic Arc and has rail connections with Abroñigal, Agoncillo, Arasur, Azuqueca, Barcelona, Coslada, Jundiz, La Rioja, Noáin, Nonduermas, Pancorbo, Seville, Silla, Valencia, Vicálvaro, Villafría and Zaragoza, as well as a wide network of dry ports, making it a strategic ally for companies wishing to
import/export their goods between the Iberian Peninsula and, especially, Northern Europe, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Bilbao is the market leader in terms of traffic with the United Kingdom and Ireland, with 33% of Spanish traffic passing through the port.
In its commitment to rail – in 2023, 29% of containers entering or leaving the port did so by train – the Port Authority manages traffic and manoeuvres in the port area with a view to improving rail operations, and has signed a contract with Adif for the Port Authority to manage operations related to cargo handling, access control and telephone and telematic customer service for operators in the terminal that the Spanish state-owned company manages.
Likewise, and to promote the decarbonisation of maritime freight transport, the Port Authority is also developing green shipping corridors that contribute to the transition from road haulage to sustainable shipping routes.
