Spain’s Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility (Mitma) awarded a EUR 2.4 million study contract and three informative studies for the Antequera–Granada–Almería railway.
The contract has been awarded to Unión Temporal de Empresas constituida por Técnica y Proyectos and Geocontrol that will analise the route to improve the functionality of the standard-gauge line designed for both passenger and freight traffic. The service contract has a term of execution of 36 months, until the final approval of the informative studies.
The line does not currently have a homogeneous configuration, since between Antequera and Granada some sections consist of standard-gauge double track, other sections of standard-gauge single track and two sections (Loja and entrance to Granada) have a single track and a third rail with standard gauge and Iberian gauge on the same track. Meanwhile, between Granada and Almería the current configuration is a single track with Iberian gauge.
Therefore, the actions to be carried out along the section have different scopes, so the work has been divided into three independent informative studies, one for each of the identified sub-sections. The section 1 and 3 cover Antequera – Granada and Granada – Almería respectively, while the section 2 involves Granada rail freight arterial network.
Antequera–Granada–Almería railway will provide the continuity to the Mediterranean Corridor and will allow the connection through Murcia with the rest of the Mediterranean corridor once completed.
Thus, the feasibility study and the informative studies encompass two fundamental works to integrate the line into the Mediterranean Corridor that must be coordinated with each other.
The actions already outlined in the functional study of the Granada – Almería section to connect both Andalusian capitals with a standard-gauge line, integrate the joint section into the Mediterranean Corridor. This reduces travel times between Almería and Granada, making them more competitive, and allowing Almería and Seville to be connected in less than three and a half hours by rail, thanks to other actions that are being carried out in parallel. All of this in a way that is compatible with the works that Adif plans in the drafting of the Renewal Projects programme that it is preparing for the Granada – Almería section.
Another work covers the analysis of the actions that must be carried out to allow freight traffic through Granada and along the Granada – Antequera section, guaranteeing the running of freight trains between Antequera and Almería and its continuity along the Mediterranean Corridor. It also includes the specific conditions that any future integration action in Granada must satisfy so that it is compatible with the rest of the actions. Among the possible solutions to be analysed by the informative study is the Moreda variant in Granada.
The Antequera – Granada – Almería railway will transform the transport in Andalusia and at the same time will become the backbone rail transport in the region and will also promote multimodal freight transport along the Mediterranean corridor.
Other works for Antequera–Granada–Almería railway
After commissioning the Bobadilla – Granada high-speed line in 2019, Mitma analised the development of the Mediterranean Corridor including the Antequera–Granada–Almería railway and launched several projects to ensure integration. The relevant ones cover the adaption of all platforms on Loja bypass and within this programme, the platform works of the Viaduct section on the Bobadilla – Granada – Loja Bypass railway have already been carried out; work of Loja-Riofrío Bypass section which is in progress since June; the section of the bypass parallel to the A-92, through the south of Loja, is being tendered; and the last section of the bypass, that of the Valle del Genil, is under supervision.
The project for the new Loja high speed station is being drafted, and projects for acoustic protection and complementary environmental measures for the Loja Bypass are planned.
Adif is also drafting the projects for the duplication of track, energy and control, command and signalling of the sections pending duplication work of the Antequera – Granada high speed line (Archidona – Ríofrío and Íllora – La Chana sections), to improve the capacity of the line. In addition, the project for the conditioning of the platform between the Loja Bypass and the Íllora Banalisation station is being tendered.
Works on the standard-gauge access to the Antequera high speed station, as well as the station itself, have been completed and put into operation.
A functional study was carried out and presented in which the change of gauge, the electrification of the line, the elimination of level crossings, the expansion of the gauge and the preliminary approach of certain route variants to improve travel times between Granada and Almería were analysed.
In addition, Adif has awarded the contract for the drafting of the Renewal Projects programme, which will allow work to begin on the sections outside the route variants identified in the functional study as soon as the Almería – Murcia high-speed line is completed, sequencing actions in such a way as to always guarantee Almería’s rail connectivity.
All these actions and projects represent the commitment of Spanish Government to develop the Mediterranean Corridor, which has doubled in length over the last six years with the commissioning of more than 310 km.
The action for modernisation and double tracking of Antequera–Granada–Almería railway responds to the objectives of the Safe, Sustainable and Connected Mobility Strategy 2030, answering to the mobility needs of both citizens and goods through sustainable modes of transport, from a social, economic and environmental point of view.
Granada rail integration
On October 11, a technical committee was established to promote the connection and integration of the railway in Granada. The committee was created by Mitma, in collaboration with Granada City Council and the Andalusian Regional Government (Junta de Andalucía). During the meeting, it was agreed to establish a roadmap to tender the first construction projects during 2025, both for the integration and for the future railway station.
“We are working with one objective and one horizon: to tender the construction projects in 2025. During the upcoming meetings [scheduled to take place every two months], our objective is to draw up the specifications for the construction projects, so that we collect as many proposals as possible from the different administrations and that the final solution is a consensus solution,” the Minister of Transport Óscar Puente said.
In this first meeting, the proposal prepared by Adif to integrate the railway in Granada, which was unveiled by the minister in September, was addressed. In addition, the points to be analysed and included during the preparation of the tender document for the project were considered.
The Mayor of Granada, Marifrán Carazo, explained that a modern station is essential to create a sustainable mobility which would include state-of-the-art infrastructure and better services, which will define the connection between Camino de Ronda and La Chana, crossing La Rosaleda neighbourhood, and the modernisation La Bobadillla stop.
The entire project to modernise and integrate the rail system in Granada will be financed by each of the three administrations and priority will be given to speed up planning and execution works, as well as the deadlines to implement the project.
The plans highlight the construction of Moreda bypass which will facilitate rail freight traffic between Antequera and Almería, for which a contract has been awarded so that construction works to begin by the end of this year. This project will eliminate freight trains on Moreda line and arriving at the railway station that currently generate issues when it comes to the integration of traffic flows passing through the La Rosaleda neighbourhood.
This will create a “large green corridor in another district of the city that is divided by the railway tracks. In addition, – it is the time to generate new cultural and social facilities for the neighbourhoods in this area while it could be an opportunity to generate opportunities for residential uses,” the Mayor of Granada explained.
The bypass will be essential for Mercagranada (Granada Logistics and Service centre) since it would allow its urban expansion, but also the development of logistics area, a project planned by the Andalusian Government. The bypass will connect this logistics area with the Mediterranean Corridor.
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