| Murcia–Almería high-speed rail line | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Status | Under construction |
| Owner | Adif |
| Locale | Spain (Region of Murcia, Andalucia) |
| Termini | |
| Service | |
| Type | High-speed rail |
| Operator(s) | Renfe Operadora |
| History | |
| Opened | 2026[1] |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 184 km (114 mi) |
| Number of tracks | Triple track |
| Track gauge | 2 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 |
| Electrification | 25 kV 50 Hz[2] |
| Operating speed | max 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
[edit]Murcia and Almería were once linked by rail from Lorca to Guadix via Baza, however this line closed in 1985.
Since 1992 Spain´s AVE high speed rail network has continued to expand but has yet to connect Almeria. 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 is awaited. 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
[edit]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
[edit]- ^ 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.
- ^ "Adif - Almería - Murcia line". www.adifaltavelocidad.es. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- ^ "El AVE Madrid-Murcia comenzará el servicio comercial el próximo 20 de diciembre". Renfe. 12 December 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
- ^ a b "20 rail projects to watch in 2020". International Railway Journal. 8 January 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- ^ "Excavation of Murcia-Almeria high-speed AVE train tunnel gets underway". Murcia Today. 24 August 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ "¿Cuándo llegará el AVE a Almería?". Diario de Almería. 16 November 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2020.