The works to reopen the Somport railway tunnel will cost 93 million euros

The Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility has begun to take the first steps towards the reopening of the Somport railway tunnel, in the province of Huesca , after submitting to public information the Informative Study that has been carried out for the Spanish section. According to this analysis, alternative 1 is proposed as the best option, which involves an investment of approximately 93 million euros to enable a complementary railway corridor to the Atlantic and Mediterranean. This is intended to improve connections with Europe and take a further step in promoting freight traffic by train and the decarbonisation of transport.

Alternative 1 involves removing the current lining, enlarging the section and the cavity excavated in the rock, and constructing a new lining, as this offers structural security and allows for adaptation to comply with a larger clearance if required in later design phases and prior to construction. In addition, it has a favourable environmental report from the environmental authority.

The actions that are finally approved in the information study will be developed in the construction project for the reopening of the tunnel developed by the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility. It will be through 
Adif, within the framework of the works related to the reopening of the Canfranc international line, which have European funds from the Connecting Europe 2022 Facility.

Once the cross section for the reopening of the tunnel has been defined, a complete study of the necessary actions has been carried out, including the analysis and design of the lining/support, defining the construction system; the design of the track and platform, and the waterproofing and drainage, as well as the railway installations. It also includes the study of a joint security system for both tunnels, the security measures and the design and pre-dimensioning of the security installations and an aerolastic analysis of the tunnel.

The tunnel is 7.8 km long, was built between 1908 and 1915 and put into service in 1928. Currently, it functions as an emergency evacuation gallery for the Somport road tunnel, which is located very close and substantially parallel to it.

INTERNATIONAL CONNECTION

The technical studies for its reopening are part of the set of actions to reopen the Zaragoza -Canfranc-Pau line to international traffic and which will allow the creation of a complementary railway corridor to the Mediterranean and Atlantic for the connection between Spain and France. These studies are part of the European project for this reopening, which is being developed jointly by the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility and the Government of Aragon, on the Spanish side; and by the Ministry of Transport and the Region of New Aquitaine, on the French side.

Based on these technical studies, which cover the entire tunnel, both for the section located in Spanish territory (60% of its length) and for the one located in French territory (the remaining 40%), each country must carry out the environmental and sectoral procedures necessary for the approval of the actions, in accordance with the applicable European and national legislation.

In this context, it is important to note that the resolution of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, dated June 7, 2024, was obtained, which declares the non-need to submit the project to the ordinary environmental procedure since no significant adverse effects on the environment are expected.

Thus, once the environmental processing of the Spanish part has been completed, the Informative Study has been drawn up, which includes the technical definition of the actions necessary for the reopening of the tunnel corresponding to the Spanish territory, in order to submit it to the process of public information and hearing of the administrations, established in the current railway legislation.

ZARAGOZA-CANFRAC-PAU LINE

There are currently no international train services on the Zaragoza-Canfranc-Pau line, which links France with Spain and crosses the Pyrenees via this tunnel. On the Spanish side, passenger and freight trains run from Zaragoza to Canfranc International Station, while on the French side, passenger services run on the section from Pau to Bedous. The section from Bedous to Canfranc, which includes the Somport tunnel, is therefore out of service.

Sometemos a información pública el Estudio Informativo para reabrir el túnel ferroviario de Somport (Huesca).

Invertiremos unos 93M€ en habilitar un corredor ferroviario complementario para mejorar las conexiones con Europa.

Damos un paso más para impulsar el tráfico de… pic.twitter.com/IcD3VGczSn

— Oscar Puente (@oscar_puente_) September 26, 2024