The port of Valencia keeps posting positive rail freight numbers while general volumes are decreasing or stagnating. There was an increase in both total tonnes and TEUs handled by rail at the port during the first six months of 2026.
Freight trains moved 1,96 million tonnes, which is 19.51% higher than the same period in 2025. For container transport, 144,803 TEUs travelled on the railways increased by 16.78%.Despite being on the way up, rail freight still plays a marginal role in the port of Valencia. Let’s look at total tonnes moved in the port during the first six months of the year, for example. The total figure is near 40 million tonnes (-3.12% compared to H1 2025), meaning that only 4.9% of the total was put on a train.
Impact of rail highway?
The growth of rail freight at the port of Valencia during the first half of 2026 is not an isolated episode. Tonnes and TEUs pulled by locomotives also grew during the first half of 2025 (+7.7% and +6% respectively on H1 2024).
It needs to be mentioned that the port of Valencia has been publishing data specifically for rail freight only in their half-year reports, at least in the past couple years.
The reason behind the recent increase might be found in the rail highway service recently launched at the port. Initially, trains were running to Madrid, but the link was extended to the Portuguese border in January of this year.
