The plan to promote freight transport by rail, enacted by the last Council of Ministers held in 2008, entails an investment of almost 5 billion Euros. It includes taking actions to separate freight traffic from other traffic, adapting corridors that will no longer be used for passenger traffic for the purpose of freight traffic, as well as enhancing connections with ports of general state interest state and procurement of new rolling stock. During the last Council of Ministers held in 2008, Development Minister Magdalena Alvarez presented the Plan to develop railway freight transport and improve competitiveness of the sector. The main objective of the Plan is to establish a primary network of freight transport, with distribution lines, as a result of the following actions:

– To adapt conventional lines to freight traffic in corridors that may be dedicated to freight traffic when high speed lines open.
– High speed lines with passenger and freight mixed traffic, in those itineraries where it is possible to combine both. The Strategic Infrastructure and Transport Plan (PEIT) include the construction of 7,000 km of mixed traffic high speed lines, in the 10,000 km network.
– To build new bypass connections along the conventional network.
– The enhancement of the capacity of the existing network.
– To improve connections between the railway network and the main state ports of general interest.

During the 2008-2012 term of office, Renfe has planned to develop new strategic lines of activity that in particular consist in increasing the services offered in freight transport, offering integrated logistic solutions to customers (“door to door” services) and in planning to increase productivity in all areas of activity: from human resources and asset management to energy consumption.