Adif has opened the expanded Noáin freight terminal in Navarra, quadrupling operational capacity to eight trains per day and raising annual intermodal capacity to 60,000 transport units.

Intermodal freight train carrying containers near Noáin in Navarra
An intermodal freight train near Noáin, Navarra; an illustrative image that does not show the expanded terminal. Photo: André Marques / CC BY 2.0.

Two mixed-gauge tracks expand operating capacity

In its commissioning announcement⁠, Adif said the renewed facilities entered service on 21 July 2026 and the intermodal area now covers 42,500 m².

It includes two mixed-gauge tracks, each 600 m long and designed for extension to 750 m, alongside a 34,000 m² slab for train operations and container storage.

Adif also electrified the ends of both tracks for the delivery and collection of wagon formations. The upgraded terminal can handle up to eight trains per day and has a maximum annual capacity of 60,000 intermodal transport units (ITUs), compared with 13,710 ITUs handled in 2025.

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Investment extends the operating term to 2045

Terminal Catalunya, which belongs to Hutchison Ports, invested almost €10 million in the works under the lease agreement signed with Adif in 2024. The operating concession was awarded for €5.93 million and an initial 15-year term beginning on 1 July 2025.

Adif says the contract will be extended by five years because of Tercat’s investment, taking it through 30 June 2045. The original 2024 lease award⁠ required at least €5 million of investment before operations and recorded 369 trains and 10,837 ITUs handled at Noáin in 2023.

The same contract made Tercat the sole authorized provider of ITU loading and unloading at the leased facilities. Associated services can include container storage excluding dangerous goods, reefer-container facilities, and container cleaning and repair.

Noáin terminal forms part of the Atlantic Corridor

The wider Noáin Freight Transport Terminal occupies 238,000 m² and forms part of the Atlantic Corridor on the TEN-T network. More than 50,000 m² is available for logistics businesses, while the site also provides heavy-vehicle parking.

Adif says the facilities are prepared for intermodal train handling and future rail motorway services. No launch date for those future services was included in the commissioning announcement.

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