Spanish government gives green light to 68-million-euro upgrade works on key Ronda railway line

Plans to improve the Bobadilla-Algeciras Ronda railway line are steaming ahead after the government contracted more works to improve the track and infrastructure with an investment of 68 million euros. However, the project will still need to go out for tender before any works can start on the key 176-kilometre section of the goods route that heads north from the Andalucían port city.

The comprehensive remodelling of the line includes its electrification and the expansion of sidings, among other things.

The latest work will involve replacing the ballast, sleepers and rail, as well as updating overpasses and other key infrastructure including signalling, telecommunications and safety mechanisms. A tender for the supply of materials to carry out these works, amounting to 30 million euros, was recently put out to tender.

The project forms of the plan aims to accommodate greater traffic (mainly freight) on the line which connects the port of Algeciras, the largest in the country, and the rest of Spain. The line is also considered an important part of the Atlantic and Mediterranean corridors and a key freight route to Europe.

Track renewal works have already been completed on the Ronda-San Pablo section, on the first phase of the San Pablo-Almoraima section (except for Jimena de la Frontera station) and on the Almoraima-Algeciras section. The spend on the modernisation of the line now exceeds 320 million euros, two thirds of the projected total investment of 472 million which is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).