The Ministry of Development, through ADIF, has awarded FCC two new contracts for the construction of two new sections of High Speed Train -AVE-. The first project, awarded last Friday, calls for the construction of the platform for the Madrid-Extremadura-Portuguese Border stretch of AVE running through Cáceres between the Alcántara Reservoir and Garrovillas. The contract is valued at € 96.5 million. ADIF has also awarded FCC a €26 million contract for the civil engineering work, tracks and electrification of the North-Northeast Corridor of the High Speed Railway running through Valencia.

The Extremadura contract refers to a section measuring 6.26 km long to be built in 32 months. The contract was awarded to the joint venture comprising the FCC Group and the Portuguese company, Conduril.

The project encompasses the construction of all necessary infrastructure such as land movement, drainage, tunnels, structures, restoration of affected services and easements, including transversal connections to ensure the permeability of the railroad.

The new section of railway which runs through the towns of Garrovillas de Alconétar and Santiago del Campo in Cáceres has been designed for an international width dual high speed track for passenger and freight traffic. One of the most unique elements is the 996 metre viaduct over the Almonte River. The work will also include three additional viaducts, one over the Santa Ana stream measuring 341 metres long and one each over the Villaluengo and Cagancha streams, both 431 metres long.

Another noteworthy aspect of this project is the fact that the line crosses the Roman road known as the Vía de la Plata (Silver Way). In coordination with the Directorate General of Cultural Heritage of the Extremadura Regional Government, the proposed solution calls for the construction of a 160 m long artificial tunnel with an 85 m3 by-pass.

As for the civil work, track and electrification of the North-Northeastern High Speed Corridor for the Palencia Rail System (RAF), the project will bring the high speed rail to Palenica and will continue on from there towards León. The Ministry of Development will invest 26 million euros in this project which will take 14 months to complete.

The object of this contract is to define the work needed to install an international width high speed track that will temporarily provide continuity to the high speed rail services through the city of Palencia until the railway is integrated into this provincial capital sometime in the future. The goal is to enable Palencia and León to benefit from high speed rail services as soon as possible.

The geographical scope of the work encompasses from the Palencia South connection to Venta de Baños to the northern connection with the Grijota-Becerril high speed line pertaining to the Palencia-León-Asturias high speed railway. The section is 10.1 kilometres long and runs through the municipalities of Villamuriel de Cerrato, Palencia and Grijota.

500 metres of rail platform will be built at the South connection, where a new gauge changer will be installed to accommodate the rail traffic coming originating in Valladolid and going to Santander.

The contract also calls for the adaptation of the Palencia station to this temporary, new situation. Platforms will be improved and prolonged, the underpass will be enlarged, staircases will be renovated and lifts will be installed for better accessibility. The enclosure around the station building will be completed and the existing shelter will be enlarged.

Vast High Speed Experience

FCC has extensive experience in the construction of high speed rail infrastructures, beginning in the mid-eighties with the construction of four sections of the Madrid-Sevilla high speed line and the Puerta de Atocha (Madrid) and Santa Justa (Sevilla) stations. The company subsequently built ten sections of the Madríd-Barcelona high speed line measuring more than 90 kilometres long in all and the Zaragoza-Delicias station. The company has also built various sections of other lines currently in service (Córdoba-Málaga, Madrid-Valladolid and Zaragoza-Huesca) and some of the relevant elements of the high speed lines such as the Guadarrama and Pajares tunnels.

FCC is currently in the process of building nearly 200 kilometres of high speed railway lines in Spain. Just this year, the Company has been awarded contracts for the accesses to the Sagrera station in Barcelona, the new Vigo station and a section of the Murcia-Almería line.