MEDWAY, the largest freight operator in Portugal, has announced its intention to start operations in France in 2025, investing €45m in eight locomotives and 350 wagons.
Medway director general, Mr Bruno Silva, told the Portuguese media that the new locomotives would be additional to the 16 Euro6000 Co-Co electric locomotives ordered from Stadler in November 2021.
The latest order is being funded by the Spanish government’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR), and the new Medway locomotives are also likely to be the Euro6000 design manufactured at the Stadler Rail Valencia plant at Albuixech.
The Euro6000 has been ordered by Spanish national operator Renfe, and is in service with Captrain España and DB Cargo on the route from Barcelona to Perpignan in France.
Medway was created in May 2016 through the privatisation of national freight operator CP Carga. It has subsequently expanded into Spain, and began operations in Italy as Medway Italia in 2019.
This was followed in 2022 by expansion into Belgium where Medway Belgium took over the operation of trains carrying containers for shipping line MSC from Crossrail Benelux.
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