Adif has received government approval to launch a tender for electrification works to extend the Madrid-Valladolid high-speed line to León.
The contract, which is worth almost €46 million, will cover the installation of high-speed rail catenary and associated systems on the double-track railway between Valladolid, Venta de Baños, Palencia and León.
Completion of the works will pave the way for the operation of 350 km/h services between Madrid, Valladolid and León. Eventually the line will become part of a high-speed rail corridor that connects Madrid with Dax and Bordeaux in France and Portugal’s second-largest city, Porto.
Between 2007 and 2013 more than €122 million of European funding has gone into the development of the Valladolid-León link.
Prior to that, The European Investment Bank (EIB) approved a €300 million loan to support works along the first 196-kilometre section between Madrid and Valladolid, which drastically reduced journey times when it opened six years ago.
The electrification contract is expected to take 18 months to deliver.
