The investment plan of 468 million for the Algeciras-Zaragoza Railway Highway starts

The Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility has put out to tender for 110 million euros (VAT included) two contracts to adapt the gauge of 26 tunnels and 40 overpasses of the conventional train line between Madrid-Zaragoza to adapt them to the dimensions required by the semi-trailers and, thus, facilitate the passage of goods.

With these contracts, the Ministry starts the investment plan of more than 468 million euros to promote the development of Railway Highway (AF) services on the Algeciras-Madrid-Zaragoza itinerary . A plan, which is executed through Adif, and which also includes the modernization of signaling, the extension of sidings in stations up to 750 meters and the improvement of infrastructure at key points.

The contracts include the actions divided into two sections as they pass through the provinces of Guadalajara, Soria, Zaragoza and Madrid.  The tender amount for the San Fernando de Henares-Santa María de Huerta section is 52.4 million euros (VAT included) plus 11.4 million for supplies. The contract for the Santa María de Huerta-Zaragoza section has a bidding amount of 34.4 (VAT included) plus 11.8 million euros for supplies.

The work includes infrastructure actions, such as the expansion of the tunnel section and platform lowering ; and superstructure, which include the renewal of sleepers, rails and ballast, as well as drainage and electrification work.

EXPANSION IN THE LINE WITH THE GREATEST DEMAND FOR GOODS

The Algeciras-Zaragoza AF services will continue from Zaragoza to Tarragona, through Lleida , a section that links the main production and consumption nodes of the Iberian Peninsula, Madrid and Barcelona, ​​and is part of the central and southern flows. with the northeast of Spain and the rest of Europe.

Related to this, in the first half of the year the drafting of the projects will be contracted to adapt the gauges of 6 tunnels and 16 overpasses to the traffic generated by these services in this Iberian gauge section. The planned investment is greater than 60 million euros.

This line, the one with the highest demand in the entire railway network, with more than 100 circulations/week in each direction , will also make future services possible on the itineraries from Vitoria to Tarragona and Barcelona, ​​taking advantage of the synergies between maritime and rail transport.

SEVEN ITINERARIES ON IBERIAN GAUGE IN PROGRESS AND SIX UNDER ANALYSIS

The Railway Highway is a freight transport service that loads road trailers or semi-trailers, using specialized wagons . The initiative offers a competitive and collaborative logistics solution with significant savings, both in external costs and in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Emissions from road compared to rail are 4.7 times higher (annual savings: 620,000 tn CO2).

Transport has seven routes in place to implement AF services : Algeciras-Madrid-Zaragoza; Huelva-Madrid-Zaragoza; Seville-Madrid-Zaragoza; Madrid-Valencia; Valencia-Badajoz-Lisbon; Madrid-Badajoz- Porto-Lisbon; and Azuqueca-Zaragoza-Tarragona.

Adif’s AAFF Support and Advisory Office (OAA) also analyzes the viability of six Iberian gauge railway routes, based on the demand for the volumes to be transported , environmental savings, wagons and locomotives to be used, and plans. of business and investments in railway infrastructure. The itineraries under analysis are: Tarragona-Barcelona; Madrid-Valladolid-Burgos-Vitoria; Murcia-Madrid; Cádiz-Madrid; Tamarite from Litera-Irún/Portbou; and Zaragoza-Pamplona (Noain)-Vitoria (Júndiz).

In standard gauge, AF services are already provided from the terminals of Can Tunis and Morrot (Barcelona) to different points in northern Europe. In addition, projects from Tarragona to northern Europe are analyzed, as well as their continuity through the Mediterranean Corridor in Spain.

The implementation of the Railway Highway between Madrid and Zaragoza will have European financing through the “Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan . Funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU”.