Be e anspo links o Eu ope — Succeeding h ough coo dina ion July 2008
A se ies o high-speed ail lines will link ci ies in Spain
and Po ugal o he F ench high-speed ne wo k and will
connec he Ibe ian peninsula o he es o he EU in
wha will be a majo boos o he Eu opean anspo
ne wo k. T a el imes will be d as ically educed hanks
o his ‘sou h-wes Eu opean high-speed ail link’:
a el be ween Lisbon and Mad id will be slashed by
eigh hou s, a el be ween Mad id and Ba celona will
be cu by well o e hal , and Mad id will be — by he
end o 2012 — wi hin ou hou s by ail o he F ench
bo de . A majo bene i o he p ojec will be o educe
CO2 emissions by shi ing eigh om oad o ail and
passenge s om ai o ail.
P io i y p ojec 3 o he ans-Eu opean anspo ne wo k
(TEN-T) consis s o high-speed lines om Po o o Lisbon
and om Lisbon o Mad id. F om Mad id, he e will be wo
b anches — A lan ic and Medi e anean — connec ing o he
F ench high-speed ail ne wo k (see map on page 3).
The A lan ic b anch o which he eigh aspec o he
p ojec is pa icula ly impo an — connec s Mad id–
Vi o ia–I ún/Hendaye–Dax–Bo deaux–Tou s and hen joins
he exis ing Pa is–Tou s high-speed line. The Medi e anean
b anch links Mad id–Za agoza–Ba celona–Figue as–
Pe pignan–Mon pellie –Nîmes and hen joins he exis ing
Pa is–Lyon–Ma seille/Nîmes high-speed line.
The sou h-wes
Eu opean
high-speed
ail link
The p ojec aces nume ous challenges, including in pa icula
achie ing in e ope abili y o he ne wo ks, as Spain and
Po ugal use a di e en ack gauge compa ed o he es o
Eu ope. In addi ion, he e a e se e al issues ega ding c oss-
bo de connec ions be ween Spain and F ance and di e en
ime ables o cons uc ion in he wo coun ies, as well as
o he complica ions wi h cons uc ion in ce ain a eas.
The o al cos o he p ojec is expec ed o be EUR 50.6 billion
which will include he cons uc ion and upg ade o almos
3 800 km o ack as well as se e al unnels.
Fac ile: TEN-T p io i y p ojec 3 (1)
Dis ance 3 753 km
P e ious jou ney ime
Lisbon–Mad id (2) 10 h 40 min
Mad id–Ba celona (2) 6 h 50 min
P ojec ed jou ney ime
Lisbon–Mad id (2) 2 h 45 min
Mad id–Ba celona (2) 2 h 38 min
Es ima ed inal comple ion da e 2020
To al p ojec ed app oxima e cos EUR 50.6 billion
(1) Figu es aken om ‘TEN-T implemen a ion o p io i y
p ojec s — p og ess epo , May 2008’.
(2) Rou es lis ed by way o example — he p ojec also includes
o he ou es
© Eu opean Commission/Alain Ba on
© SNCF
KO 81 07 106 EN D
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Wha does he p ojec in ol e?
High-speed acks capable o speeds o 250 km/h will be laid
along all sec ions o he sou h-wes Eu opean high-speed ail
link. Fo he Medi e anean b anch, i in ol es he cons uc ion
o new lines be ween Mad id and Ba celona and con inuing
o Figue as o connec o he F ench ail sys em in Nîmes.
In F ance, he main p io i y will be he new line be ween Nîmes
and Mon pellie , due o comple ion by 2013, as well as a ail
bypass, mainly o eigh , designed o alle ia e one o he main
bo lenecks on his line. A new Mon pellie –Pe pignan high-
speed line is planned o be comple ed by 2020.
On he A lan ic b anch, om Mad id o Valladolid, a new
high-speed line has been pu in o se ice. The u u e
connec ion o Vi o ia/I ún — he so-called ‘Basque Y’ — is unde
cons uc ion and will connec o he F ench high-speed line.
In F ance, he plan is o ha e high-speed ail ex ending om
Dax o Bo deaux by 2020 and om Bo deaux o Tou s by 2016
and connec ing o he exis ing high-speed line.
A line linking Mad id o Lisbon and Po o is also being planned.
The new ack will allow o d ama ically educed a el imes.
The p e ious Lisbon–Mad id jou ney o 10 hou s 40 minu es
will be slashed o 2 hou s 45 minu es.
Challenges
The sou h-wes Eu opean high-speed ail link aces se e al key
challenges, such as he exis ence o a di e en ail gauge on
he Ibe ian peninsula which makes achie ing in e ope abili y
be ween he new ack and exis ing ack mo e complica ed.
P oblems ha e also a isen in Ba celona due o conce ns abou
he ou e impac ing on sensi i e a eas o cul u al impo ance.
These conce ns ha e led o signi ican delays in comple ing
he Mad id–Ba celona sec ion.
The e a e also complica ions in he a ea o Figue as/Gi ona,
whe e he cons uc ion o he line could be mo e han
h ee yea s behind schedule. The bo de -c ossing sec ion
Pe pignan–Figue as — which is being buil and which will
be managed h ough a public–p i a e pa ne ship — is
p oceeding acco ding o plan. Howe e , due o he delays
a ound Figue as/Gi ona, he p ojec is likely o be unde used
o se e al yea s.
Mee he coo dina o : É ienne Da ignon
Belgian É ienne Da ignon was named Eu opean coo dina o o he sou h-wes
Eu opean high-speed ail link in July 2005. He se ed as EU Commissione
wi h esponsibili y o indus y om 1977 o 1985. He has also wo ked a he
In e na ional Ene gy Agency and has se ed as Belgian o eign a ai s minis e .
‘The sou h-wes Eu opean high-speed ail link is essen ial o ensu ing he
con inui y o he ans-Eu opean ailway ne wo k,’ Da ignon said in his 2007
p og ess epo .
© Shu e s ock
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Luxembou g
Pa is
Lyon
Bo deaux
Tou s
Dax
San Sebas ián
I ún/Hendaye
Ta agona
Ba celona
Figue as
Pe pignan
Bézie s
Mon pellie Nîmes
A ignon
Bilbao
Valladolid
Palencia
Salamanca
Po o
A ei o
Lei ia
Viseu
Cáce es
Toledo
Badajoz
Ma seille
Mad id
Lisboa
Be n
Za agoza Lé ida
Vi o ia
Bu gos
É o a
Se úbal
Angoulème
Th
e sou
h
-wes Eu opean
h
ig
h
-spee
d
ai
l
l
in
k
Wha will be he bene i s?
The p ojec will signi ican ly inc ease he Ibe ian peninsula’s
access o F ance and o he es o Eu ope, and ice e sa.
This, indeed, is he main aim o he p ojec . Mo eo e , a el
imes wi hin Spain and Po ugal will be g ea ly educed.
The p e iously 10 hou s 40 minu e jou ney ime be ween
Lisbon and Mad id will be slashed o 2 hou s 45 minu es.
T a el be ween Mad id and Ba celona will be educed om
6 hou s 50 minu es o 2 hou s 38 minu es.
The new line will ope a e on he s anda d Eu opean gauge
ack, as opposed o he Ibe ian, wide gauge ack, bene i ing
a elle s and anspo ope a o s alike. The e will no longe be
a need o change ains a he F ench/Spanish bo de , making
a el much as e and easie . F eigh anspo will be he
main bene icia y, in pa icula o he c oss-bo de connec ions.
Gauges will no ha e o be swi ched, no will eigh need o
be ans e ed om ail o oad, as is equen ly done now o
sa e ime and money. This will signi ican ly educe anspo
imes be ween F ance and Spain.
The p ojec is also expec ed o b ing impo an en i onmen al
gains. Inc eased ail eigh capaci y is an icipa ed, which
will allow o a signi ican educ ion o CO2 emissions
compa ed wi h he cu en si ua ion in which oad domina es
eigh ope a ions.
P io i y sec ion
C oss-bo de sec ion
Bo leneck
A wha s age is he wo k?
Comple ed
Ongoing
To s a be o e 2010
To s a be ween 2010 and 2013
To s a a e 2013
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Wha is he p og ess so a ?
Signi ican p og ess has been made on se e al sec ions
o he p ojec . On he Medi e anean b anch, he sec ion
be ween Mad id and Ba celona became ope a ional on
20 Feb ua y 2008. Wo k con inues on he Pe pignan–Figue as
c oss-bo de sec ion. The sec ion is scheduled o be inished
in Feb ua y 2009 and much o he ci il enginee ing wo k on
bo h sides has al eady been comple ed.
On he A lan ic b anch, he Mad id–Valladolid sec ion,
which includes a 28 km unnel, was inaugu a ed on
22 Decembe 2007. Wo k on he ‘Basque Y’ has al eady begun
and he en i e sec ion is scheduled o be inished in 2013.
S udies s ill need o be comple ed o he Spanish–F ench
bo de c ossing a Dax. Public consen o he Dax–Bo deaux
line is o eseen o a ound 2011–12.
Conce ning he Mad id–Lisbon/Po o line, anspo minis e s
om bo h Spain and Po ugal ha e s a ed ha he comple ion
o he line is o high impo ance.
When comple ed, he p ojec will undoub edly bene i he
ans-Eu opean anspo ne wo k, and he Ibe ian peninsula,
g ea ly, making bo h passenge a el and eigh anspo
as e and easie and educing CO2 emissions in he p ocess.
Fo he comple e 2006 and 2007 annual epo s on his p ojec , see:
h p://ec.eu opa.eu/ en/ anspo /coo dina o s/index_en.h m
© Eu opean Communi ies, 2008
Rep oduc ion is au ho ised p o ided he sou ce is acknowledged.
Published by:
Di ec o a e-Gene al o Ene gy and T anspo
Eu opean Commission, B-1049 B ussels
h p://ec.eu opa.eu/dgs/ene gy_ anspo /index_en.h ml
© Eu opean Commission/Alain Ba on
KO-81-07-106-EN-D
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