Spain’s Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility will launch a EUR 38.6 million tender for the electrification of the 70 km Talayuela–Plasencia high-speed rail section, part of the Madrid–Extremadura–Portuguese Border high-speed line.
The project includes the installation and maintenance of the overhead contact line (catenary); the power connections from the catenary or feeder lines to buildings or technical cabins; the installation of gantries on both sides of the track—comprising posts, crossbeams and auxiliary supports—as well as the foundations required for their anchoring. It also involves the installation of switch disconnectors, their linkages, and electric actuators. In addition, the project covers the switch point heating system, including heaters and power supply units.
These works will enable the electrification of the Talayuela–Plasencia high-speed rail, along with the necessary testing and pre-commissioning maintenance from the completion of construction works until the infrastructure is brought into service.
Electrifying this section will allow the use of electric traction trains instead of diesel-powered ones, offering several benefits: it requires approximately 25% less primary energy; it significantly reduces reliance on fossil fuels, with potential savings of up to 45%, depending on the energy mix; and it results in approximately 59% lower greenhouse gas emissions. It will also enhance the reliability of rail operations.
This initiative marks another major step forward in the construction of the Talayuela–Plasencia high-speed rail section, following the recent tendering of three key contracts essential to its development.
Recently, a EUR 131.4 million tender was issued for the design and construction of safety, signalling, and fixed telecommunications systems, as well as a EUR 9 million tender for the installation of the GSM-R communications system. A EUR 34 million tender was also launched for the construction of a major assembly and materials storage facility in Navalmoral de la Mata, intended to support track installation between Talayuela and Plasencia. Once operational, this facility will serve as a maintenance base for the Extremadura high-speed line.
The Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, through Adif AV, continues to make progress across various sections of the 437 km Madrid–Extremadura high-speed line, a strategic component of the Atlantic Corridor. The project is structured into three main sections:
- Plasencia–Cáceres–Badajoz (168 km total: 150 km of main line and an 18 km Mérida bypass). This section has been in service since 2022 and electrified since 2023. The Mérida bypass is fully operational, and testing of the ERTMS Level 2 signalling system is under way, enabling speeds of up to 300 km/h in Extremadura.
- Talayuela–Plasencia (70 km). Construction of the track platform is ongoing. Four of the eight subsections—Talayuela–Arroyo de Santa María, Navalmoral de la Mata–Casatejada, Casatejada–Toril, and Toril–Río Tiétar—have already been completed, totalling 39.1 km, which represents more than half the section’s total length. Work continues on the remaining subsections: Arroyo de Santa María–Navalmoral de la Mata, Río Tiétar–Malpartida de Plasencia, Malpartida de Plasencia–Plasencia station, and the Madrid–Plasencia connection branch. Once platform construction is finalised, the subsequent phases will involve work at the Navalmoral de la Mata assembly base, track laying, electrification, and the implementation of safety systems.
- Madrid–Oropesa (200 km). The Ministry is currently finalising the route for this third and final section, which will complete the high-speed link between Madrid, Extremadura, and the Portuguese border.
In parallel, progress is also being made in enhancing Extremadura’s connectivity via the conventional rail network. For the Madrid–Valencia de Alcántara line Adif is drafting the electrification project, the Mérida–Puertollano line will be renewed with a EUR 167 million financing while on the Mérida–Los Rosales line, improvement works are also under way with an investment of EUR 106 million.
Share on:
