Cartagena allocates 128 million to high-speed train project
The latest work on the Mediterranean Corridor will link Cartagena and Torre Pacheco
Works to construct a high-speed train line in Cartagena have taken a big step forward with the award of a 128.4 million euro contract to begin the stretch of track leading to Torre Pacheco. This is the second section to get underway in order to eventually connect Cartagena and its port with Murcia – separated by 45 kilometres – and with the high-speed network that makes up the Mediterranean Corridor.
This project will involve the construction of the platform on which the double standard gauge track and the rest of the equipment and systems of the new railway line will subsequently be laid. The 8.9 km long section will run parallel to the current conventional Chinchilla-Cartagena line.
According to the Ministry of Transport, the Cartagena-Torre Pacheco section "represents a new technical challenge, given the large number of works to be carried out to overcome a triple challenge: to respectfully integrate the route into an irrigated crop area; to guarantee its resilience to adverse weather phenomena, reinforcing the transversal drainage of the land in the event of heavy rain; and to avoid the intersection with roads and highways."
The layout of the current line runs through irrigated areas of Campo de Cartagena, whereas the new high-speed platform will be built on a larger space dedicated to crops.
In addition to the platform itself, the project includes the construction of viaducts, work to improve the channel of a ravine and the construction of up to seven overpasses along these almost 9 kilometres.
Several other projects are running in parallel to better connect Murcia with the rest of southern Spain. Last week, the government allocated another 3.6 million euros to the rail line between Lorca and Murcia which will ultimately unite the Region with Almeria.
However, no official date has been given for when Cartagena and the port will join the high-speed network and the Mediterranean Corridor. Originally, 2027 was offered as a tentative target but it now looks as though work won’t be completed until 2030.
In other news: Man shot dead outside La Manga Golf Club
Image: Ministry of Transport
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