The Spanish Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility has formalized, for EUR 534,031, the contract for the informative study on the connection of the Madrid-Seville high-speed line with the Córdoba-Jaén corridor, which allows work to begin on the study.
According to the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, EUR 400 million will be invested in this project, which aims to bring the city of Jaén (southern Spain) closer to the high-speed network and reduce travel times to Madrid by more than 50 minutes, connecting both cities in 3 hours.
The study will analyze a rail connection starting from the first of the aforementioned corridors, the Madrid-Seville high-speed line, but eliminating the entry into Córdoba station and the corresponding transfer. This will require a new connection or bypass between the high-speed line and the conventional line between Córdoba and Jaén, including a new gauge changer.
The railway lines to be connected by the new bypass are part of the TEN-T network and, at the same time, belong to the two major corridors crossing Spain: the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.
Previously, the Ministry drafted the corresponding feasibility study, which in its final phase analyzed a set of five alternatives for the new bypass. These confirmed the socio-economic profitability of the project, although without any major differences that would allow a clear choice between the options, an aspect that will have to be decided in the informative study, the contract for which has just been formalized.
The connection of the Madrid-Seville high-speed line with the Córdoba-Jaén corridor is essential for reducing travel time and providing comfortable services. Currently, rail services between Madrid and the city of Jaén run on two main corridors, one via the Madrid-Seville high-speed line, using transfer services in Córdoba and the subsequent medium-distance service between Córdoba and Jaén. Another connection is made via medium-distance services using a line that passes through Alcázar de San Juan.
The project is part of the plan to develop the rail network in the province of Jaén. The ministry recently contracted studies and designs for the integration of the rail network in the capital of Jaén through a EUR 2.2 million contract and also signed a EUR 4 million contract to improve mobility in the Jaén station area.
Last year, Adif announced a EUR 150 million investment to install a new signaling system on 167 km of line on the Córdoba-Jaén corridor.
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