The shortest way from the centre of Spain to the coast

A double track of UIC European gage designed for maximum speeds of 350km/h will soon link the centre of Spain with the Mediterranean Sea and the Southeast of the Iberian Peninsula. The total length of the line is 940km – with a forecasted investment of €12.365 million – and will imply a significant change in the communications map when the Madrid-Cuenca-Valencia/Albacete section comes into operation in 2010. After this section, there will be a link with Alicante in 2012 and soon after another link to Murcia and Castellón.

Since facts and events are measured in time, the distance is more than ever a fight against the clock. Bringing the cities closer together is set in function of the time we spend on a train, thus the high-speed expands the human limits in everyday horizons.

Spain – a high speed country

The first high-speed line (Madrid-Seville: 470km) was opened in 1992. Nowadays, Spain has a thriving high-speed network which is expected to reach 2,230km in 2010 – a network longer than those which exist in France or Japan, i.e. the first in the world in length and technological level.

The possibility of setting up a high-speed line in Spain began in 1986 by means of the Railway Transport Plan (PTF, Plan de Transporte Ferroviario). The application of the model which splits up infrastructures and operation into two companies resulted in the creation of Adif (Railway Infrastructures Operator) in 1 January 2005, the entity in charge of developing and managing the railway network, with the goal of building new high-speed lines.

On 15 July 2005, the Strategic Plan of Infrastructure and Transport (PEIT, Plan Estratégico de Infraestructura y Transporte) was approved by the Ministry of Public Works with a forecasted investment of TM250.000 million for the period 2005-2020; an investment necessary to improve the territorial cohesion and to guarantee a communications system in accordance with the requirements of a developed country.

Connecting the centre of Spain with the Mediterranean Sea and the Southeast of Spain

With regard to the start of the Madrid-Castile La Mancha-Valencian Community-Region of Murcia high-speed line, it dates from 17 September 1999 when the Spanish Government, as per an agreement of the Council of Ministers, awarded its construction and operation to the Railway Infrastructures Manager at that time (Gestor de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias). The laying of the foundation stone was at Picassent (Valencia) in 2002. The Madrid-Valencia direct corridor works began in March 2004 at the Requena-Siete Aguas (Valencia) section.

As in other lines, the route was built in UIC European gauge (1,435mm) in order to solve out the historical connection problems affecting the Iberian gauge (1,668mm).

The line starts at the Madrid-Puerta de Atocha Station. The line shares 28km with the currently operating Madrid-Seville/Malaga route, and thus this route will be laid double to get independent accesses for both lines. The line continues through Cuenca until the Motilla del Palancar junction (167.5km) from where it goes directly to Valencia/Castellón through a branch line, and to Albacete/Alicante/Murcia through another branch line with a new access to Valencia by the South via Xátiva.

The Madrid-Cuenca-Valencia (368km) and Madrid-Cuenca-Albacete (293km) sections are only for passenger services and will be in operation by the year 2010. The Madrid-Alicante section will be finished in 2012 and later on the high-speed will reach Murcia and Castellón.

Nowadays, most of the line is under construction except for the following sections: Valencia-Castellón (58.7km), still in project phase, and Murcia-Cartagena (56.3km), where information is being gathered. The Nudo de la Encina subsection, located in the Albacete, Valencia and Alicante provinces junction is still under bidding process. The tracks quadruplicating of the Atocha-Torrejón de Velasco section is in the drafting of the construction projects phase.

The works of the quite complex accesses to the cities of Valencia, Albacete and Cuenca are in good progress. Phase 1 of the burying works – 700m length – has finished in Alicante.

Most significant works

Contreras viaduct: the biggest concrete arch of the European railway network

The Contreras viaduct is located in the Embalse de Contreras-Villargordo del Cabriel subsection, in the border between Cuenca and Valencia provinces. This emblematic section has great technical difficulties and maximum requirements due to the rough terrain and the Madrid-Valencia A-3 motorway proximity.

It has a length of 587.25m and a width of 14.2m. It consists of 12 arch spans of variable length: 36.2m in the ends and 43.5m in the central spaces.

The main difficulty of the work has been the construction of the arch, standing on six pillars of 37m at the maximum height. It is the biggest concrete arch of a railway bridge in the European railway network, with 261m of arch span and a maximum height of 37m.

The construction of the arch and the construction of the upper deck, which will contain the railway track, are progressing simultaneously: the setting of the deck allows the arch to make progress. The first two voussoirs at the side, which form the basement of the arch, have been done by a shuttering system and concrete pouring. The remaining concrete voussoirs have been constructed by a system based in the progress of a traveling formwork fixed with a provisional cable-stayed system formed by steel cables anchored to the upper structure by metallic pylons.

La Cabrera Tunnel (Valencia) – seven world records in tunneling machine digging

Located in the Siete Aguas-Buñol (Valencia) subsection, with 7.250m long it is the longest tunnel. It consists of two circular tubes of an 8.57m inner diameter, dug in rocky carbonated materials. In a period of approximately 10 months of digging, the world record in daily drilling through tunneling machine has been broken seven times until being established in 92.8m drilled and 58 concrete rings placed.

A TBM of 204m in length and 2.700 tonnes in weight was used for drilling. The maximum rate of advancement was 1.60m every 20 minutes.

The advance is produced through a protection shield which ensures the structure until the setting of the tunnel inner coating; this operation is done simultaneously with the excavation.

Pergola of El Reguerón – the biggest pergola of the Spanish High-Speed Line

It is the longest pergola of the Spanish high-speed lines: 366m-long and 42m-wide. It is located in the access section to Murcia. The construction of the bridge means the removal of the railway traffic through the former route, which passed through the towns of Beniaján, Torreagüera, and Los Ramos-Alquerías. By doing so, the barrier effect will be eliminated from the current line, and four level crossings will be removed as trains will circulate through the future high-speed line.

Vinalopó viaduct

The longest viaduct of the route is located in the Elda-Monovar section, Alicante province. It is 1,481m in length, with a curved design and a 6,565m radius. It has 30 arch spans of variable length – from 35m to 60m – and pylons from 13m to 20m high in order to cross the river.

The deck is a constant edge of 3.75m high. It has been done through a shuttering system with a covered centering structure and the use of 35,000m3 and 8,000 tonnes of steel. It is supported by pylons of 2m in diameter and a maximum depth of 48m.

One of the most remarkable facts is that the deck support over the pylons has been done through spherical supports. The railway bed can contain two railway tracks and has sidewalks for maintenance and services.

Sustainability and respect for the environment

The integration with the environment, the efficiency programme and the energetic savings are an integral part of the philosophy inspiring all the actions of the Ministry of Public Works and Adif. All the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) conditions are strictly respected in the construction works. They have been designed to cause the less possible impact. The construction projects have taken into account the existing environmental corridors and the working progress of the sites has adapted to the birds nesting period.

Archaeological sites

The construction of the Madrid-Castile La Mancha-Valencian Community-Region of Murcia high-speed line is a two-way journey: forward to the future by improving the communications and the traveling times between cities, and backward to the past with significant discoveries contributing to a better knowledge of history.

Adif, as a socially responsible company, cooperates with the public entities and administrations to preserve the Cultural and Historical heritage. Thus, of a 940km route, there has been found 47 sites totaling an extension of 104,778m2.

Due to its cultural interest, there are two significant sites for historical experts:

Lo Hueco

Lo Hueco is a site with tyrannosaur remains and around 8,000 fossils from 80 million years ago which were found in the high-speed works at Fuentes (Cuenca). Until now they are the best western Europe sites in the subject. In an extension of 7,000m2, there have been working 50 archaeologists and 40 workers. Most of the identified material can be attached to the sauropod dinosaurs from the tyrannosaurs, crocodiles and tortoises group.

Villa Els Alters

The protection of the Roman villa of Els Alters site, found in L’Énova (Valencia), meant that Adif was obliged to modify the route of the line and to build two viaducts with an additional investment of €4.7 million.

The Roman villa was built between 65 and 75 AD and was occupied until the 5th century. The works have an extension of 2,676m2 and 12 archaeologists and 40 workers have been working at the site.