Europa is moving towards a decarbonized economic model to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050.
Plans to transform its activity towards that goal have been accelerated by the effects of the pandemic through the approval, by the European Commission, of a historic investment for recovery. Within funds, aimed especially at promoting digitalization and sustainability, one of the sectors that will have the most resources is that of transport. Within this, sector, the aim is to achieve a modal change where the railway, due to its numerous environmental and structuring advantages, is the main character.
In line with the European strategy, in the Spanish Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR), about 20% of the funds allocated as non-reimbursable, 13.20 billion euros are destined to implement a new mobility system, free of emissions and equipped with the latest technological developments. Of these, 6.30 billion euros are allocated to the railway: improvement of commuter trains, large European corridors, actions in intermodal and logistics terminals, freight transport, etc. It is an unprecedented commitment, a unique opportunity that opens the door for companies in the sector to contribute their know-how and extensive experience in the numerous projects planned until 2026.
But despite this a priori favourable news for our industry, it is necessary more than ever the support and definition of reforms by the administration in areas that reduce national and international competitiveness, such as the skyrocketing cost of electricity, the increase in the transport of goods and logistics, especially for export, the difficulty of attracting and maintaining talent in our industry and the sector in general, the difficulty of acquiring certain key components due to their current scarce supply or the generalized rise in the cost of raw materials among others.
We enter the final stretch of 2021, a year, that of the railway, which highlights the great movement that exists in the sector and the expectations for the coming months. A journey, that of reactivation, which travels on the train of sustainability.
