SEAT lets the train take the strain

A year ago SEAT finally got to use the rail link from Its factory in Martorell to the Port of Barcelona, and in that time it has shipped over 63,000 cars by rail.

The building of this project started in 2005 –  a joint venture between SEAT and Autometro – as an innovative way to transport cars from the factory to the port, and has made a big difference to the traffic on Catalan roads in that time, taking more than 20,000 lorries off the roads and racking up a big saving in SEAT’s carbon footprint.

Throughout 2008 the rail link transported cars on twice daily runs on double-decker carriages over 400 metres long, carrying more than 170 cars at a time. Try doing that on the roads! Even Australia’s road trains pale in to insignificance compared.

It’s a real shame we managed to decimate the railways in the UK, or we could do something similar. Admittedly, quite a few of our car makers are on or near ports (Ford at Dagenham sits on the Thames, and you can see boats full of cars when you drive across the Dartford Bridge), but it would be far more sensible to take as much of this sort of traffic off our roads and on to the railways.

Nice one, SEAT!