Next week VTG will receive its first Iberian gauge wagons for railway highway 22/02/24
< Back to listAuthor: Oscar Mateu
Next week VTG will receive its first Iberian gauge wagons for railway highway
The leasing firm is still in negotiations to place the rolling stock and is waiting for the line gauges to be adapted
The Tatravagónka wagons acquired by VTG | VTG
The T4000 pocket wagons for railway highway in Iberian gauge that the leasing company VTG ordered in 2022 will arrive in Spain next week. This has been confirmed to this publication by company sources, who specify that the 200 units will enter the Peninsula in a phased manner. The rolling stock, manufactured by the Slovak company Tatravagónka, was going to be the first of its kind in Iberian gauge to operate in Spain at the time of its announcement, but in recent months other companies have opted for the intermodality race on the lines. peninsular: the Asturian Talleres Alegría has placed an order for pocket wagons that can also circulate on the Iberian gauge tracks for Ermewa , and whose delivery is scheduled for this quarter; and Renfe Mercancías also placed an order for 75 units of the same type from Tatravagónka at the beginning of the year.
“We are still waiting for the gauges of the railway highways to be adapted”
Carlos Omaña Director of Operations of VTG in Spain
The VTG material was to be put into circulation at the end of last year, but the state of adaptation of the Spanish railway infrastructure is delaying its start. According to the Director of Operations of the leasing firm in Spain, Carlos Omaña, “the wagons are going to have to be parked until the different corridor lines can accept the rail transport of the P400 semi-trailers”, that is, until Adif has adapted the clearances of those corridors. This circumstance would also have delayed the closing of leasing agreements with operators in Spain, although Omaña maintains that the company is “working with different options” for the wagons to start rolling on some Spanish railway highway. “There is nothing official closed, mainly because of the clearances,” Omaña insisted.
In any case, VTG also considers other uses for these wagons, given that these units can transport tankers, containers and even automotive vehicles. In fact, the company also markets in Spain the Vega International r2L wagon trays, a complement to the wagon that facilitates its loading and enables it to transport vans, cars or tractor heads. “We are considering other possibilities,” said Omaña, aiming to close agreements with train operators that are not strictly limited to the railway highway.
For the moment, the units that they add to their park in Spain will be parked on several Adif roads that the company has for rent. The company maintains that, beyond the 200-car package, it will continue with its commitment to investing in rolling stock that can circulate on peninsular roads in the future. In this sense, VTG will present proposals to the consultation that the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility has opened to the transport sector in order to decarbonize it : the firm will present its “idea of including more wagons for railway highways and for other projects”, it has stated. its Director of Operations in the Iberian Peninsula.