Alonso Group’s commitment to replace freight transport by truck to the train in Spain has been recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and Environment (Mapama). The aim of the project is to reduce the impact of the group’s logistics activity on the environment by reducing the CO2emissions associated with the combustion of diesel fuel.
The Ministry of Environment (Mapama) has selected the program “Modal change in the transport of goods by road to rail transport” promoted by the Alonso Group, considering it as a useful tool in the fight against climate change.
The program presented by Servicios Terrestres y Marítimos (Setemar) is part of the Global Logistics Plan promoted by the Alonso Group, which consists of connecting the nerve centers of the maritime freight traffic of the Iberian Peninsula through multiproduct and multiclient trains. A project that has already started its activity with the cargo of goods by rail on the Barcelona platform (Can Tunis).
The plan allows the entry of trains in the logistics platforms of the Alonso Group and make the modal shift in the transport of goods by road to the railroad. This change has associated a significant reduction of CO2 emissions, since each train can transport the goods of 75 trucks.
The logistics platforms of the holding company connected to the railway
The project proposes, firstly, the railway connection of the existing freight station in Barcelona (Can Tunis) in order to allow trains to enter the logistics platform with warehouse and storage divisions.
Later, the Global Logistics Plan promoted by the Alonso Group, recognized of strategic interest by the European Commission through the Connecting Europe Mechanism, will enable the railway mode in the logistics platforms of the holding located in Valencia, Algeciras, Madrid and Sagunto.
Grupo Alonso, committed to the environment
Currently, the Alonso Group works in its commitment to the environment with plans such as the one selected by the Mapama with the firm objective of reducing road transport, boosting the development of intermodal terminals in Spain, which do not exist today.
The president of the holding, Jorge Alonso has thanked the Ministry of the Environment and reiterated that the goal of all the companies that make up the group is “to offer CO2-free services in 2030-2035 to our customers.” A proof of this commitment is the continuous renewal that the group’s transport companies are carrying out in the fleet of diesel-gas trucks in recent years.
A sustainable, innovative and job-creating project
The Minister of Environment, Isabel García Tejerina, stressed that projects such as the one promoted by the Alonso Group “have proven to be a useful tool in the fight against climate change, as they contribute to encourage the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the so-called diffuse sectors (transport, residential, waste, etc.) responsible for just over 60% of total emissions in our country and in the European Union. Works that, according to Minister Tejerina, drive at the same time “innovation and generate economic activity and employment in our country.”
The implementation of Climate Projects has already resulted in a total reduction of CO2 emissions equivalent to more than 7.4 million tons in the last five years.
During the closing ceremony of the Call for Climate Projects 2016 in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and Environment, the minister recalled that Spain must reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 10% compared to 2005, and highlighted that “the fight against climate change must be a choral effort”.