Barcelona expands BEST terminal while new south rail access remains in development
Published: 13/09/2026
The two new cranes can handle vessels 26 containers wide and provide 55 metres of clearance under the spreader. BEST now has 15 Super Post-Panamax quay cranes along its 1,500-metre berthing line.
Hutchison Ports BEST has commissioned two new ship-to-shore cranes at the Port of Barcelona, increasing the terminal's capacity for 24,000-TEU vessels. On the landside, however, Barcelona is still working on the railway infrastructure intended to provide additional capacity between the port, Spain's main network and the Mediterranean Corridor.
BEST already has a substantial rail operation at Prat Wharf. Its railway terminal has eight tracks and handles traffic between Barcelona and inland and European destinations.
The more important development for future rail capacity is taking place immediately behind the port.
Barcelona is developing a new southern railway node around Nou Llobregat. The external access planned by the Spanish infrastructure authorities consists of a double-track mixed-gauge railway for both 1,435 mm standard gauge and 1,668 mm Iberian gauge. It is planned to branch from the Spanish general railway network south of Bellvitge and continue to the reception and dispatch tracks at Nou Llobregat. Electrification, signalling and control-command systems form part of the project.
A second mixed-gauge branch is planned towards Can Tunis Oeste. The project also foresees adapting tracks at Can Tunis for standard-gauge operation, creating another standard-gauge route between the existing southern and northern port accesses.
Inside the port, work is further advanced. In June 2026, the Port Authority reported the partial completion of EUR 22.6 million of civil works and ground preparation for Nou Llobregat. The infrastructure being prepared includes two branches linking the future southern access with the internal port railway and with the Nou Llobregat reception and dispatch complex. This will have five tracks in its eastern section and four in the western section.
The same works prepare the railway superstructure for the Nou Llobregat reception and dispatch tracks and sections of the port railway ring, including the connection towards Prat Wharf. Investments connected with Nou Llobregat had reached EUR 33.6 million by June 2026, financed through NextGenerationEU funds.
Nou Llobregat forms part of a larger south railway node estimated at around EUR 265 million. The programme includes a rolling-road terminal for semi-trailers, separate reception/dispatch and loading/unloading terminals in the former Llobregat riverbed, and Nou Llobregat alongside the current river course. Together with the existing BEST rail terminal and Terminal C, the area is planned to comprise six railway terminals.
Barcelona therefore has two railway projects progressing at different speeds: internal port infrastructure is already under construction, while the new connection to the national network remains under development by the Ministry and railway infrastructure authorities.
Rail already accounts for a significant part of Barcelona's hinterland traffic. The port handled 219,000 TEU and 295,000 vehicles by rail in 2024. According to the Port Authority's planning, the complete south railway node could eventually transfer around 640,000 containers and 46,000 semi-trailers per year from road to rail.
The commissioning of larger quay equipment therefore solves only the maritime side of Barcelona's capacity equation. For rail freight operators, the decisive project remains the mixed-gauge southern access and its connection with Nou Llobregat, Can Tunis and the existing port railway network. No opening date for the complete new southern railway access has been given.