photo: transportes.gob.es/Illustrative photo
Spain has awarded more than €44 million in rail freight subsidies as it steps up efforts to shift cargo off roads and cut transport emissions, with state operator Renfe emerging as the largest beneficiary.
The Spanish Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility has awarded €44.37 million to nine public and private rail freight operators under the third call of the rail eco-incentives programme of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR), according to the Ministry.
The beneficiary operators are Renfe, Captrain España, Continental Rail, Medway, CEFSA, Low Cost Rail, CSP Logitren, Transfesa, and Traccion Rail. Individual allocations range from €14.7 million to €9,000 per company. The amounts were calculated based on environmental performance indicators, including wagon occupancy rates, locomotive type, and traffic growth between January 1 and December 31, 2024, compared with the average of the previous two years. Better environmental performance resulted in higher emission savings and larger subsidies.
The total awarded amount almost doubles the original budget of €23.5 million allocated for the call. The difference will be covered by unallocated funds from the second call of the programme and remaining resources from other EU funding lines.
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The subsidies aim to shift freight transport from road to rail, as road freight emits up to twelve times more direct greenhouse gas emissions than rail on non-urban routes. Rail freight currently represents less than 5% of Spain’s modal share, and the programme seeks to rebalance this distribution while reducing dependence on fossil fuels.
Renfe Leads Beneficiaries
According to Renfe, its freight division, Renfe Mercancías, received €14.7 million, making it the largest beneficiary of the programme. The allocation is based on tonnes-kilometres transported in 2024 on the Railway Network of General Interest and the environmental performance of these services compared with previous years.
The final resolution of the 2024 call was published on December 16, 2025, with the corresponding ministerial order announced in the Official State Gazette (BOE) on the same date. Operators may use the funds to reduce tariffs or improve service quality, generating benefits for shippers and the wider multimodal logistics chain. Rail freight produces approximately eight times fewer direct emissions than road transport and fourteen times fewer than aviation on non-urban routes.
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Programme Background
The rail eco-incentives scheme forms part of the Sustainable and Digital Transport Support Programme, included in Component 6 of the PRTR. Launched in 2022 with a total budget of €74.6 million, it covers three consecutive calls, each subsidising rail freight traffic from the previous year.
The first call awarded €26.1 million in 2023 for 2022 operations, while the second call allocated €21.8 million for traffic carried out in 2023. The programme is co-financed by EU NextGenerationEU funds, underlining its role in supporting the green and digital transition of Spain’s transport system.