The Government of Asturias and the Gijón Port Authority today presented the Gijón-Zalia Atlantic RailPort Corridor 740 project in Brussels, aimed at the integrated development of rail intermodality in the Gijón area and at strengthening its connections. The initiative forms part of the new work plan for the Atlantic Corridor, which identifies the development of the city’s intermodal transport system and the improvement of its rail connections as essential elements for strengthening the port hub and its links with the wider region.

The presentation took place as part of the Principality’s and the port authority’s participation in the Connecting Europe Days 2026 event, Europe’s leading forum on transport and mobility, where the Government of Asturias has advocated the need to accelerate the planned investments for the development of the Atlantic Corridor. Alongside the Port of Gijón, Asturias has also been involved in work relating to the development of the ‘motorway of the sea’ with Nantes-Saint-Nazaire, and meetings have been held with François Bausch, European coordinator of the Atlantic Corridor, and Gesine Meissner, coordinator of the European Maritime Space, to convey Asturias’ priorities and advance their integration into EU planning.

The Gijón-Zalia Atlantic RailPort Corridor 740 sets out a joint vision for the rail and logistics system connecting the Port of Gijón, the General Interest Rail Network (RFIG) and the Asturias Logistics and Industrial Activities Zone (Zalia). The aim is to improve the capacity and reliability of rail freight transport, facilitate connections with inland markets and gradually prepare the system for the operation of trains up to 740 metres in length.

The proposal also incorporates a regional dimension: Zalia is set to establish itself as an intermodal hub serving the whole of Asturias, and not merely as infrastructure linked to the Port of Gijón. The future rail connection in this area will enable goods from different industrial and logistics areas to be consolidated and distributed, linking them both to the port infrastructure and to inland rail corridors.

CEF Transport 2026 Call for Proposals

The Gijón-Zalia Atlantic RailPort Corridor 740 project has been submitted to the CEF Transport 2026 call for proposals, the European Union’s funding programme for the construction and modernisation of transport infrastructure. Jointly, Zalia and the Port of Gijón have applied for four million to carry out the studies and engineering work necessary to prepare for future projects. The funding requested from this body does not cover the execution of the works, which will need to be addressed at a later stage, depending on their level of maturity, priority and eligibility.

The work will cover demand and market analysis, the rail operations concept, network capacity, interoperability conditions and engineering solutions for future projects. It will also include economic, environmental and climate assessments, legal and governance aspects, and the development of the investment and implementation strategy.

The overall project identifies a maximum planning budget of 39.5 million for all planned actions, subject to their subsequent development, maturity and eligibility. The project’s structure allows interventions to be carried out in a differentiated manner, prioritising those best placed to move forward, whilst maintaining an integrated vision of the port, rail and logistics system.

An integrated chain from the port to the plateau

The Gijón-Zalia Atlantic RailPort Corridor 740 brings together, within a single proposal, the components that form part of the rail and logistics system. In the port sector, it includes a study of the capacity and operational requirements of the El Musel/Sur-Aboño rail network and its connections to the RFIG, as well as the future rail link to the area behind the Marcelino León quay.

The project also includes the conceptual development of the RailPort Intermodal Hub, designed as a rail and intermodal infrastructure facility within the port to improve transfer operations between sea and rail modes and prepare the system for longer trainsets.

The proposal also envisages a future rail consolidation facility at Zalia, functionally connected to the RFIG. This facility will enable the receipt, consolidation, marshalling and dispatch of freight, thereby facilitating the creation of critical mass for new rail services and strengthening the role of the logistics zone as a regional intermodal hub.

The study will pay particular attention to connections with Castile and León and Madrid, as well as to the needs of operators and the various industrial and logistics sectors. The strategy is based on improving rail connectivity and on the new possibilities offered by the Pajares bypass for links with the Meseta.

One of the central elements of the project is to prepare the system, both technically and operationally, for the future operation of freight trains up to 740 metres in length, in line with the objectives of interoperability and efficiency in European rail transport. The first phase will involve studying potential demand, infrastructure capacity, operating conditions and the interoperability requirements necessary to achieve this objective. The conditions of the various infrastructure elements forming part of the chain will also be analysed, from the rail access routes to the port through to the connection with Zalia.

The work will enable the characteristics of potential rail services, infrastructure and operational requirements, and the conditions necessary for their implementation to be determined. In this way, the project will provide the technical basis for identifying market opportunities and defining the solutions required to meet them.