October 10, 2013 [TEPSA] -TEPSA, a bulk liquid storage terminal operator, inaugurated a railway station for a new freight car loading and unloading service for chemical products in Bilbao. The new siding has been built on the terminal site which TEPSA leases from the Bilbao Port Authority.
TEPSA has invested in the construction of the rail station, which will provide services to customers in the chemical industry and connect the Port with production plants in the peninsula. It is anticipated that in the future TEPSA Bilbao will become the main entry point for chemical products being transported to the south of France by rail.
The first product to be loaded at these facilities was sulphuric acid, delivered to the Adisseo plant in Burgos.
The siding is a 936-metre stretch of railway track, with two switches and two buffer stops. The main track is 384 metres long, while the rest is made up to 468 metres with an 84-metre shunting neck.
A weighbridge has been installed beside the track to weigh the freight cars when arriving and departing, and to register the loads.
The siding has been designed to be large enough to handle 7 freight trains a week.
The siding is expected to start operations with one or two 20-car freight trains per week. The company anticipates that it can increase turnover to around 300,000 tonnes per year by adding new products and routes.
Although the rail connection has been fitted with an Iberian gauge, TEPSA hopes to attract more clients who are shipping goods to Europe by using freight cars which can be adapted to the European standard gauge.
The new facility will strengthen the Port´s position as one of the most competitive ports in Europe for the importation and exportation of chemical products.
