Murcia–Almería high-speed rail line

Murcia–Almería high-speed rail line
Overview
StatusUnder construction
OwnerAdif
LocaleSpain (Region of Murcia, Andalucia)
Termini
Service
TypeHigh-speed rail
Operator(s)Renfe Operadora
History
Opened2026[1]
Technical
Line length184 km (114 mi)
Number of tracksTriple track
Track gauge2 tracks 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge, 1 track 1,668 mm (5 ft 5+21⁄32 in) Iberian gauge
Electrification25 kV 50 Hz[2]
Operating speedmax 300 km/h (190 mph)

The Murcia–Almería high-speed rail line is an under-construction railway in the Region of Murcia and Andalusia in Spain.

History

Murcia and Almería were once linked by rail from Lorca to Guadix via Baza, however this line closed in 1985. When the AVE high speed rail network opened in 1992, it continued to expand, with the Madrid–Levante high-speed rail network reaching Alicante railway station in 2013, and Murcia del Carmen railway station in 2022.[3]

A continuation from Murcia to Almería railway station was proposed, and construction of the new high-speed line began in 2010,[4] but was suspended due to political disagreements. In 2017 the Spanish government announced that work would restart in 2019, to be completed by 2023.[1] The railway's estimated completion date has since been pushed to 2026.[5]

Route

The line will serve as a continuation of the Madrid–Levante high-speed rail network at Murcia, serving stations at Lorca and Vera before terminating in Almería. It will include two standard-gauge high-speed tracks for passenger trains with a maximum speed of 300 km/h (190 mph) and a parallel 1668 mm Iberian gauge track for freight.[4] The trip from Murcia to Almería is expected to take 1 hour 5 minutes,[6] and 3.5 hours to Madrid, compared to the current six hours taken using the existing Linares Baeza–Almería railway.

References

  1. ^ a b "El Gobierno anuncia que reanudará las obras del AVE Almería-Murcia en 2019 y las acabará en 2023". El Mundo (in Spanish). 3 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  2. ^ "Adif - Almería - Murcia line". www.adifaltavelocidad.es. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  3. ^ "El AVE Madrid-Murcia comenzará el servicio comercial el próximo 20 de diciembre". Renfe. 12 December 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  4. ^ a b "20 rail projects to watch in 2020". International Railway Journal. 8 January 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  5. ^ "Excavation of Murcia-Almeria high-speed AVE train tunnel gets underway". Murcia Today. 24 August 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  6. ^ "¿Cuándo llegará el AVE a Almería?". Diario de Almería. 16 November 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2020.