The Minister of Development, Iñigo de la Serna, reaffirmed the commitment of the Government with the maintenance of the investments planned for the action plan for modernisation and improvement of the Cercanías network of Catalonia.
To this end, a total of EUR 4 billion will be invested on a multi-annual basis, of which EUR 2.5 billion will be received by Adif, the Spanish rail infrastructure manager, to improve all areas of railway infrastructure (EUR 1.16 billion in the period 2017-2020). These items will be complemented by other investments made by Renfe, SEITT and Puertos del Estado, according to Minister de la Serna. One of the first actions that will take place is the implementation of the first phase of the new CTC systems in Barcelona, with an investment of more than EUR 7.4 million. De la Serna reviewed other actions included in this plan, such as the tender works for the new configuration of the conventional broad gauge scheme of the Barcelona-Sants station with an investment of more than EUR 5.6 million. This action, which is expected to be awarded during September, is of great importance for the improvement of the service, as it will allow the optimization and flexibility of infrastructure and exploitation capacity in the central core of the Barcelona rail network. In addition, also in September, EUR 7 million will be tendered for the drafting of projects for actions at multiple infrastructure sites, including 9 tunnels, 19 bridges, 16 embankments and 66 clearings.
Requests for CEF funds
This July Spain announced that it will request European funds to make investments of more than EUR 550 million. The approved Spanish proposal includes 2 projects that provide for a total investment of more than EUR 550 million euros, for which a subsidy of EUR 170 million is requested, representing approximately 33 percent of the investment. The submitted applications are related to railway infrastructure works and the implementation of ERTMS in rolling stock fleet. Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) is an instrument of the European Union to provide financial support for projects of common interest in Trans-European Networks for Transport, telecommunications and energy. The TEN-T development envelope amounts to EUR 22.4 billion in the period 2014-2020. The planned allocation for the general calls to which Spain has access is EUR13 billion. Between 2014, 2015 and 2016 calls for Spain a total of EUR 992 million have been allocated, out of EUR 10.14 billion distributed throughout the European Union.
by Elena Ilie
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