Transport is the main emitter of CO2 in Spain with 29.6% of total emissions and the second in Europe, with 22.4%, only 3.9 points below the energy sector.
These data could be diluted in the sea of sustainable information that reaches us every day, but it is worth not ignoring them, as this CO2 is directly contributing to global warming, which is profoundly altering natural ecosystems, social structures and global economies, affecting the availability of resources, displacing populations and increasing the frequency and severity of natural disasters.
We have seen clear examples of these impacts in recent years, with extreme heat waves or catastrophic floods in Germany and France causing extensive material damage. In Spain, drought has affected agricultural production in regions such as Andalusia, the number of forest fires has increased by 20% in the last 10 years and cold air drops, such as the DANA of October 2024, are becoming more frequent and virulent, causing devastating human and economic losses.
These events highlight the urgency of taking effective measures against climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, especially in the most intensive sectors, such as transport, which, in its terrestrial version, stands out mainly because 96 % of the goods consumed in Spain travel by road, the vast majority of which is powered by fossil fuels. To decarbonise this sector, it is necessary to change the current model towards a more sustainable one, and it is here where the railway is presented as the best alternative possible.
The train, compared to the road, releases between 80 % and 100 % less CO2 for the same freight and the same trip. This is 80 % in the case of a diesel locomotive and up to 100 % if the locomotive is electric and the electricity consumed is green, as is the case in Spain. Thus, using rail drastically reduces the carbon footprint of freight transport. Not only that, but train also consumes 6 times less energy than the road, generates 3 times less noise, emits 8 times less air pollutants and reduces externalities by 40 % due to, among other factors, less road maintenance, less congestion, fewer accidents and a reduction in hospital care related to traffic accidents and respiratory diseases.
Therefore, it is clear that shifting freight from road to rail is a very effective and already available solution to reduce the climate impact of land transport, fully aligned with international sustainable commitments such as the Paris Agreement, European policies such as the Green Deal or national strategies such as the Freight 30 Plan, which establish the will and objectives to be achieved for the decarbonisation of the economy.
However, being realistic, although the train stands out as a key option for medium and long-distance transport, with the capacity to move loads equivalent to those of some 40 lorries in a single journey and to transport practically any type of goods, in most cases it cannot always be the only transport mode, so combining it with other modes of transport in an intermodal model based on the railway is the most practical and effective solution. In this way, lorries and trains are not enemies but allies and the sustainable and intelligent combination of both would not only ease the shortage of lorry drivers in the sector but would also facilitate transport in the first and last mile, where rail does not reach, and would reduce the carbon footprint by dropping dependence on lorries on long journeys.
Currently, there is a great willingness to materialise this drive towards intermodality as demonstrated by the Plan Mercancías 30, derived from the PRTR and the European Next Generation funds, which seeks to increase a share stagnant for more than 15 years at 4% to 10% by 2030.
This plan includes specific programmes such as the PATSYD, which has allocated nearly 445 million euros to date for the modernisation and renewal of railway assets, the eco-incentives, with a total budget of 75 million euros (2022-2025), which rewards railway companies for increasing freight transport by train, and the infrastructure renewal plan, with an initial investment of 5.8 billion euros, addressed, among others, to key projects such as the Mediterranean and Atlantic Corridors.
However, despite this promising context and the fact that the demand for the service, a key player in this transition, is increasingly interested in understanding how to reduce the climate impact associated with the transport of its freight, there are still barriers that make modal shift difficult for them.
On the one hand, infrastructure improvement works are affecting current rail traffic, generating uncertainty among customers. One of the big challenges is to ensure that companies that rely on the train do not abandon it during the period of the works, or that, if they do, they return once they are finished.
On the other hand, the lack of flexibility of rail compared to other modes of transport, such as lorries, remains a challenge for those looking for quick and adaptable solutions to their logistical needs.
It is essential to understand the concerns and needs of those who already rely on rail to transport their products and those who are considering doing so. Accompanying them in this transition process, being pedagogical and highlighting the economic, logistical and environmental benefits of opting for rail is absolutely necessary. And not only with them, but also with the final consumer, whose purchasing power can be a key driver to demand a more respectful and decarbonised transport.
Initiatives such as Mercancías al Tren, led by Transfesa Logistics, bring this message closer to the end consumer, to raise awareness, to make them think about the footprint generated by the products that reach their hands and to materialise the change that will make it possible to increase the modal share of rail. At the same time, it serves as a forum for debate for the different actors involved, such as operators, traction operators, shippers, road associations, public administration and NGOs, to define together, in a collaborative way, the best way towards the decarbonisation of the transport sector. Because the only to reach a more sustainable, competitive and healthy Europe, is by rain.
Isabel Núñez, responsable de sostenibilidad del grupo Transfesa Logistics
Sobre @CDOverde
Creadores de Opinión Verde #CDO es un blog colectivo coordinado por Arturo Larena, director de EFEverde
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Este blog de «influencers verdes» ha sido finalista en los Premios Orange de Periodismo y Sostenibilidad 2023 en la categoría de «nuevos formatos».
La entrada The alternative to decarbonise the transport sector: Freight by rail. By Isabel Núñez (Transfesa Logistics) se publicó primero en EFEverde.
