In 2017, the Terminal Marítima de Zaragoza (tmZ) increased its handled volume by 20 percent, to around 350,000 TEUs by rail and truck.
Over the past five years, the terminal has seen volumes increase by more than 250%. Miguel Duro, Managing Director of the company, points to the depot’s, “flexible service offering”.
Following the addition of a railway siding in 2007 a private company was established ̶ tmZ Depot Services ̶ to operate the terminal under a 35-year concession. APM Terminals Spain is a co-founder and holds a 45% stake in the company.
The depot is a multimodal inland terminal exclusively focused on the maritime container trade. Its unique concept provides customers with the same services offered by a maritime port, including direct links with the main ports in the world and the benefits of a neutral operator.
It’s customs-bonded warehousing and customs clearance services save clients time and money, and reduce administrative tasks at the port, which leads to greater efficiencies. “Customers also benefit from door-to-door delivery,” says Miguel. “We take away all of the hassle, paperwork and administration for our customers.”
The intermodal rail terminal is located in Zaragoza, a key industrial area in North East Spain, approximately 300km inland from APM Terminals Barcelona and halfway to Spain’s capital, Madrid. “In addition to being strategically located for international trade, over 20 million inhabitants and 70% of the country’s GDP lies within a radius of 300km,” adds Miguel.
Commenting further on the company’s flexibility he continues, “Our volume growth has been accomodated by continuous right-sizing of the depot to align with customer needs. 2015 saw the addition of two new 550m rail tracks for freight, in addition to expansion of the main railway tracks. With the longest siding of 750m the depot is capable of handling Spain’s longest trains. We have a frequent and direct connection with Spain’s most important route between Barcelona and Madrid - and as a result we handled more than 2,400 trains in 2017, and 84,000 rail container movements.”
In 2015, 50,000m2 of purpose-built container handling area, including an additional 60 reefer connections were also added to meet high reefer export demand. The depot boasts 6,400 m2 of secure warehousing and offers a complete range of cargo services.
“In addition to around 20 standard trains per week, our rail operator, APM Terminals Railway Spain, offers four dedicated reefer trains per week between the terminal and the Port of Barcelona, three to four weekly trains to the Port of Bilbao, and a dedicated train to the Port of Valencia,”explains Miguel. On these services, reefer containers are connected to power throughout transportation to guarantee constant temperatures and ensure that there is no disruption in the cold chain during transportation. The terminal also offers regular rail access to the cities of Burgos, Pamplona, Vitoria, Madrid, Azuqueca de Henares and the Port of Algeciras. “Routes and service frequency are flexible, giving us the capability to adapt to market requirements at any given moment,” concludes Miguel.
