1.8 Integration into the transport system. Sustainable mobility

Current and planned road and rail accesses and promotion of port-rail intermodality (I_22)

The main accesses to the Huelva Port by road are from the A-49 motorway (Seville-Huelva-Portugal), via the N-441 (to the North), H-31 (to the East) and H-30 (Ronda Este de Huelva), which extends to the South with the N-442, from which the Outer Port is accessed. Also important for the Huelva Port are the N-435 (from Badajoz and Zafra to Huelva) in the connection with Extremadura, which connects with the A-49 in San Juan del Puerto, the N-431 (Huelva-Portugal) and the regional roads A-494 (from San Juan del Puerto to Matalascañas via Mazagón), A-5000 (from Huelva to San Juan del Puerto), A-5025 (from A-494 to N-442 via La Rábida) and A-497 and A-492 which, via the bridges over the river Odiel, link the port area with Punta Umbría and other towns on the west coast of Huelva.

The most important actions planned for the Huelva Port in terms of external road network connections are those which ensure a good level of service on the A-49 motorway, as well as on the N-435 to Extremadura. Specific work includes the continuation of the work to increase the capacity of the A-49 in the sections with the highest traffic intensity and the transformation of the N-435 (future A-83) into a dual carriageway, such as the Trigueros and Beas bypasses.

The internal roads of the Service Area are in a condition to provide an excellent level of service. Its main artery is the route formed by the Avenida de Hispanoamérica, the Avenida Francisco Montenegro (Punta del Sebo road) and the Tinto Bridge, linking the inner docks and the Outer Harbour. Through the connection line with the general network, the Huelva Port links up with the General Interest Railway Network managed by ADIF, with the Huelva Mercancías railway logistics terminal nearby, from which goods are dispatched, received and classified with the possibility of self-service management.

With regard to internal connections of the road network, actions are being carried out, such as the new link between the N-442 and the single access to the Outer Port (last mile action); and others of special interest are planned, such as the New Bridge over the River Tinto, connecting the A-494 at the Palos de la Frontera Bypass, with the H-30 (Huelva East Ring Road).

The N-442 joins the towns of Huelva and Mazagón and supports intense traffic, with a high presence of heavy vehicles from the existing industrial estate where the CEPSA refinery and the Enagás regasification plant are located, not to mention the whole of the Outer Wharf of the Huelva Port where the South Wharf is located, which is used for general merchandise and containerised traffic as well as for the regular ferry line at present, this being the place that could have the greatest expansion and future opportunities for the Huelva Port. In the summer season, this traffic is especially intense, as it is the communication route between Huelva and the access to the beaches of Mazagón and its surroundings.

For all these reasons, it is necessary to widen the entire road, an action that has been planned for more than a decade, as well as a reorganisation of all the accesses to the N-442, by means of service roads, the elimination of some intersections or their replacement by junctions (at different levels) and an increase in capacity, without forgetting the construction of the second bridge over the Tinto River to relieve the flow of traffic and ensure exit routes in the event ofpossible emergencies.

For the Huelva Port, public investments aimed at improving rail and road connectivity with the centre of the peninsula, via Seville, are strategic, as the V Centenary Motorway (A-49) is currently congested.

Following the presentation of a bid from the joint venture of the companies Inversiones Onuba, S.L. and Alvores Developments, S.L., it was decided to present the award of the tender in favour of this joint venture at the first meeting of the Board of Directors in 2024.

The tender for the ZAL development works will be launched in 2024.

With regard to rail connections, the Huelva Port Authority has had an agreement with ADIF since 2011. This agreement regulates the functions of the port’s rail infrastructure manager and establishes the way in which it is connected to the General Interest Railway Network. All this in application of law 38/2015 of 29 September on the railway sector, which repeals law 39/2003.

With regard to the Improvement of Rail Accessibility, both in projects located within the Port Service Area and in relevant locations outside this Service Area, it is worth highlighting the completion in 2023 of the works for the fitting out of the Majarabique terminal for 550 m long trains.

The Huelva Port Authority and ADIF have signed an agreement which regulates the financial contributions of the HPA from the Port Land Accessibility Financial Fund in relation to its contribution to the improvement actions on the Huelva-Seville Line. Specifically, 11 million euros have been earmarked for the construction of two 750-metre sidings on the Seville-Huelva line, which will allow 750-metre freight trains to run, thereby optimising the rail corridor.

Therefore, the Huelva Port has excellent land connectivity, especially by rail, with its hinterland. However, projects to improve the capacity of these infrastructures for the new rail transport standards should be further developed.

Internally, the Huelva Port Intermodal Platform project, co-financed by the CEF Programme (Connecting Europe Facility), ended at the level of financing in 2021, with the road widening work concluding in July 2022. During the second half of the year, work was carried out on the final justification of the project, the total cost of the project being 18,588,727.38 €. The justification of the project was completed in 2023 receiving the final payment of 848,049.93 € and a total grant of 2,460,308.00 €.

The I-RAIL project (Interoperability of the rail system with TAF TSI in TEN-T Corridors), with the participation of the main players in the rail freight transport sector in Spain, Portugal and Italy, and the support of the European Union Railway Agency and the Spanish Railway Safety Agency, sets out also sets out to improve interoperability in the exchange of information on European rail freight services through digitisation and the use of TAF and TSI technical standards (defined in the Interoperability Directive 797/EC/2016) and to make rail freight transport more competitive, both in terms of costs and time. In 2023, the Huelva Port Authority finalised all the work on the development of the rail-port management tool. This tool will be integrated within the Digital Platform of the Huelva Port and is being developed by the Portel-Sener joint venture. It is estimated that they will be finally ready in the first months of 2024.

Since 2011, the Port Authority of Huelva has signed an agreement with ADIF that regulates the functions of the port’s railway infrastructure manager and establishes the way in which it connects with the General Interest Railway Network.

The ECO-GATE project (“European Corridors for Natural Gas Transport Efficiency”) was completed in 2023. The HPA has carried out the development plan for the installation of a gas station in the service area of the Huelva Port at a total cost of 40,001 €, having received a subsidy totalling 19,991.99 €. This project aimed to study the improvement of the efficiency of the conventional and natural gas vehicle market and its connection to the European corridors, through the development of new technologies and innovative solutions for refuelling logistics services, clean fuels, refuelling infrastructure, vehicle and component manufacturers, and operational processes

The LNGHVE2 Logistics Solutions project was also completed in 2023. The aim of this project is to give Spain the option of offering a comprehensive solution to the new requirements of the maritime and railway sectors. The activities to be carried out include the adaptation of the LNG regasification plant at the Huelva Port, so that it can offer bunkering and small-scale services; the construction of an LNG supply lighter and the introduction of LNG as a fuel in a green maritime-rail corridor between the Huelva Port and the Majarabique dry port in Seville, through the retrofitting of a diesel locomotive to BIOGNL and the construction of a gas station at the Majarabique rail terminal. In 2022, the HPA decided not to continue with the project, with the agreement of Renfe Mercancías Enagas, once the engineering work on the locomotive had been completed.

Durante el año 2023 se ha completado el estudio de demanda para el servicio de Autopistas Ferroviarias en el Puerto de Huelva que se inició en 2022.

Since 2020, the Huelva Port Authority, the HPA has been developing another CEF project together with 17 European ports, called EALING (European flagship Action for Cold Ironing in Ports), which aims to accelerate the development of infrastructures that allow ships docked in the Port to be supplied with electrical energy during their stay there, with the consequent benefits in energy and environmental efficiency.

One of the main objectives of the project is to comply with Directive 2014/94/EU, which includes as a priority that the Core Ports of the Trans-European Transport Network, including the Huelva Port, should have the necessary infrastructures for the supply of electricity to shipson shore. These infrastructures should be available by 31 December 2030 for regular cargo lines, and represent a fundamental pillar in the fulfilment of the European strategy to convert ports into emission-free zones by 2030. In the specific case of the Huelva Port, the aim of the project is to carry out all the studies and engineering work necessary for the future construction of the port infrastructures known as OPS (Onshore Power Supply) or Cold Ironing, so that when the current project is completed, the works can be put out to tender. The project also seeks to achieve technical and legal harmonisation at European level to standardise the processes for supplying electricity to ships. At the same time, it will reduce the energy costs of the ships operating in the Huelva Port, improving their competitiveness. Engineering work on the OPS infrastructure was carried out in 2023. The engineering work on the Levante Wharf and the ro-ro part of the South Wharf has been completed. The container project has been drafted and a CBA and various deliverables, such as environmental studies, have also been carried out.

With regard to the project “Improvement of the Railway Interoperability and Connections with the hinterland of the Huelva Port”, the study of demand for the Railway Motorway service in the Huelva Port, which began in 2022, was completed in 2023 and work is being carried out on the CBA. A master railway plan has been planned to analyse all the railway operations of the Huelva Port and to prioritise investments. The project, which has been underway since 2018, includes multiple preliminary actions (engineering, cost-benefit analysis, etc.) prior to the execution of the future diversification works at the Huelva Port. One of these actions is the adaptation of the South Wharf rail terminal to allow the operation of the rail motorways. This activity will be a continuation of the analysis of the positioning and definition of a strategy for the Huelva Port in relation to rail motorways, and to take into account the necessary adaptation of the rail network to the interoperability characteristics of the Trans-European and Transport Network Corridors (TEN-T network) (train length up to 750 m). It also envisages the design of a siding in the inner harbour area to support the terminal and allow trains up to 750 metres long to be parked and to eliminate possible bottlenecks in the inner harbour network. The project also includes the design of the railway safety and communications facilities, the adaptation of the land located in the multi-purpose area of the south quay as a support area for the terminal’s railway operations, a project for the rehabilitation and adaptation of the internal railway network to comply with the European interoperability standards defined for the basic network. The project also includes a traffic reorganisation study (road and rail) in the area surrounding the Ingeniero Juan Gonzalo Wharf in order to promote rail transport by rail in this area of the outer harbour, eliminating certain existing operational difficulties.

This project is also financed with the CEF and is aimed at improving railway interoperability and connections with the area of influence of the Huelva Port, contributing to the objectives of decarbonisation of transport and compliance with the decarbonisation objectives set by the European Union. The budget exceeds 961,000 euros, with a maximum co-financing percentage of 50% for this project.

In 2022 the Huelva Port Authority received approval from the Sustainable and Digital Transport Support Programme for the project called ROUTE TO A RAPID, INTERCONNECTED AND DIGITAL PORT. The objective of the project is the design, development, validation and implementation of a digital platform for the Port Community of the Huelva Port, consisting of a system of federated platforms based on European standards of NGSI-v2 data exchange and its implementation through the FIWARE ecosystem aimed at providing solutions for the digitalisation of processes and infrastructures and providing solutions to the needs of the port environment and the logistics chain and associated services inherent to the port through contextualised information sharing technology between the different agents of the network. Work began in 2023 on activities 2 and 3 of the project, which consist of the development of the sensorisation and data collection systems and the digital platform for the management of port services. In addition to continuing work on activity 4 of the number plate reading system.

The objective of the RAPID project is the design, development, validation and implementation of a digital platform for the Port Community of the Port of Huelva.

The last project also financed by the CEF which led to the development of actions in 2023 was the Intermodal Platform II Project of the Huelva Port. This aims to transform the Huelva Port into a sustainable and resilient port through the construction of a new ro-ro ramp in the South Wharf and the implementation of the electrical energy supply in the Minerals Wharf for tugboats. The development of these works will make it possible to eliminate existing bottlenecks in the port infrastructure and improve the management of the expected demand for road traffic. The new infrastructure will further boost the development of the Atlantic Corridor, which includes the Huelva Port, as the official hub of the maritime connection with the Canary Islands. The project is co-financed by the CEF Programme (Connecting Europe Facility) and runs from 2022-2024 with a total investment of 22,396,950.93€ (Funding granted: €6,719,085.28).

Traffic development developed by roll-on/roll-off loading and unloading (I_23)

The first ro-ro ferry milestone was in 2011 with the commissioning of a ro-pax ferry of Naviera Armas with a regular weekly call between Huelva and the Canary Islands. This was made possible by the installation of a floating ro-ro ramp by the shipping company.

In 2016, this type of traffic was boosted once again thanks to the inauguration of the new inspection facilities at the South Wharf to speed up veterinary and phytosanitary inspections of products of animal or plant origin entering the European Union through this infrastructure.

In 2018, the Huelva Port Authority acquired the ro-ro ramp that enabled the launch of a new line with the Canary Islands on the Balearia & FredOldsen line. In 2023 the number of weekly stopovers with the Canary Islands is a total of 4: 3 calls by Balearia & FredOldsen and 1 by Naviera Armas.

Developments in rail and road transport and road operations (I_24)

The following table shows the evolution over the last three years in the Huelva Port of the percentage of goods entering and leaving the Port by rail, in relation to the traffic handled by road and rail, as well as the evolution of the percentage of maritime goods entering and leaving the Port by rolling loading and unloading operations, in relation to the total of general maritime import-export goods.. The evolution of pipeline transport is also indicated given its importance for the Huelva Port.

The statistical summary for rail traffic in 2023 was as follows: