Railway digitisation will enable rail operations to be planned and will provide a single channel for real-time information exchange between the parties involved, improving coordination and making port services more efficient and effective.

With a view to promoting rail-port transport to improve the port’s competitiveness and support the decarbonisation of the logistics chain, the Bilbao Port Authority has developed a new telematic service within its e-puertobilbao telematic platform. The eportua train service is designed for those players operating trains in the Port of Bilbao, improving management and communication between traffic controllers, railway companies and maritime terminals.

The new service will provide operators with access to daily and weekly planning and real-time tracking of the different milestones of the train within the port, i.e. all the steps from when the train arrives at the port’s marshalling yard through to when it is made available at the terminal for loading/unloading and vice versa, from the moment the terminal informs that the train has been completed until it is positioned at the marshalling yard for departure to its destination.

Puerto de Bilbao

This will not only make the port’s rail service transparent for all involved but will also provide full traceability, enabling terminals to optimise their management and to continue improving the efficiency and effectiveness of port services. All information will be continuously updated, so all parties involved will know immediately if any unforeseen events have occured.

The Port Authority, through Sibport, manages traffic and manoeuvres in the port area, with the aim of providing a neutral, universal and competitive service 24/7 throughout the year. There are currently six maritime terminals operating by rail, with a wide range of container types, including containers, conventional freight, liquid bulk and solid bulk. The Port of Bilbao is the leader in the Spanish port system in terms of rail share, with 27% of its container traffic shipped in or out on the 4,071 trains that ran through the port in 2024.

The Port of Bilbao is connected to 22 depots distributed across the provinces of Álava, Barcelona, Burgos, Guadalajara, Huesca, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, Seville, Tarragona, Valencia, Pontevedra and Zaragoza.
Source: Port of Bilbao