Adif AV will allocate EUR 40 million for the construction of the Olmedo rail bypass, an 8.2 km link between the Madrid – Valladolid high-speed line and the Galicia high-speed railway, which will make high-speed cross-sectional travel possible across the northern half of the country.
The project includes the platform for the new connection, including earthworks and structures. Subsequent tenders will address the installation of the track and the electrification, signalling and communications systems.
In the first phase, the bypass will have a single track, although it will be prepared for the construction of the second track. The work, awarded to Vías y Construcciones, is completed with the construction of four overpasses and an underpass to guarantee permeability in the area, drainage and enclosures.
The construction of the Olmedo rail bypass will take advantage of the ‘V’ formed rail connection by the fork in the Olmedo – Zamora – Galicia high-speed line, starting from the Madrid – Segovia – Valladolid high-speed line. It will start from the high-speed line to Galicia and, after passing through the areas of La Zarza, Olmedo and Hornillos de Eresma, it will connect with the Madrid – Valladolid high-speed line.
This connection will be made by a straight route with curved ends for its connection with each of the two lines. In its central section, a viaduct will be built to cross the Adaja River.
The rail link will represent a new milestone in the boosting of the transversely of the high-speed network, which, with more than 4,000 km in length, is the largest in Europe, allowing travel through the northern half of the country without having to go through Madrid. Specifically, it will directly connect Galicia with Valladolid by high-speed and, from Valladolid, with other capitals of Castilla y León, Asturias, Cantabria, the Basque Country or Barcelona.
The Olmedo rail bypass is added to the infrastructures that Adif AV has in service or under construction to complete the transversally of high speed. In July 2022, the high-speed tunnel under the centre of Madrid was put into operation, which channels traffic between the northern half of the country and the Levante, without the need to change trains in Madrid. Likewise, progress is being made on the connection between the Madrid – Barcelona high-speed railway and the Levante high-speed line, in the Getafe (Madrid) area, which will enable transversal routes to the north from Barcelona and the northeast.
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