The Port of Santander bets on railway highways to advance towards more sustainable and efficient freight transport

September 9, 2026

The second Meeting of Port Week analyzed the role of these infrastructures as a strategic solution to optimize logistics chains, reduce their environmental impact, and evolve towards cleaner and smarter mobility.

The president of the Port Authority of Santander (APS), César Díaz, emphasized that the Port is working “to launch” a railway highway with Madrid “that will allow consolidating a sustainable model of long-distance freight transport and also favor connection with future green corridors towards Europe”.

Santander, September 9, 2026. The president of the Port Authority of Santander (APS), César Díaz, this morning advocated for the need to have a railway highway “that connects us with Madrid,” passing through Palencia and Valladolid, to “strengthen our competitiveness, expand our area of influence, and consolidate a sustainable model of freight mobility.”

“Our leadership in ro-ro cargo movement, number of intermodal transport units, and rail-port intermodality rate, in addition to our regular maritime connections for ro-ro traffic, make us ideal for having an infrastructure that we consider essential and that has the explicit support of three railway operators - Tramesa, Transfesa, and Low Cost Rail - and several shippers currently operating in the Port of Santander -Ewals Cargo Care, LKW-Walter, ISS (Intermodal Sea Solutions), CLdN Cargo, and ABC Logistic,” he stated.

Díaz explained that the railway highway “is the key piece to create a true green corridor for freight transport between the Spanish peninsular center and Northern Europe and the United Kingdom.”

This was stated by the head of the Cantabrian infrastructure at the Palacio de la Magdalena, during the inauguration of the Rail-Port: Sustainable and Smart Mobility Meeting, which also included the participation of Roberto Media, Minister of Public Works, Housing, Territorial Planning and Environment of the Government of Cantabria; Álvaro Rodríguez Dapena, Deputy Director of Strategy and Business Development of Puertos del Estado; and Salvador Tarodo, Vice-Rector of Programming at the Menéndez Pelayo International University (UIMP).

The seminar, led by Rodríguez Dapena himself and Antonio Aguilar, Deputy Director of Freight Transport Promotion at ADIF, addressed the main policies, guidelines, and objectives that are shaping the transition towards more sustainable and intelligent rail and port mobility.