The Spanish rail infrastructure manager Adif has started works on the Algeciras–Madrid railway. Once completed, the €345 million investment should make a rail highway, where truck trailers are transported by rail, possible on the north-south axis.
The works are extensive. Between the southern port city Algeciras and Madrid, Adif will adapt the railway clearance of 34 tunnels, 104 overpasses and 18 metal bridges. This should make the transportation of semi-trailers via rail possible on the route.
Adif says that the works are, at some locations, “incompatible with rail traffic”. As a result, the infrastructure manager will have to suspend train operations between Algeciras and Venta de Cárdenas, on the northern border of the southern province Andalusia. Adif expects the suspensions to last from September until the autumn of 2027.
There are alternative routes in place. Trains to and from Huelva, Algeciras, Seville and surrounding destinations will need to divert via Zafra, close to Portugal. The two lines leading to Zafra are single-track and non-electrified, meaning they will likely reduce capacity significantly. Adif finished a renovation on the Huelva–Zafra line in 2025, however.
Infrastructure works
The tunnel and infrastructure works on Spain’s Bobadilla–Algeciras and Alcázar de San Juan–Cádiz lines include:
- 21 tunnels on the Bobadilla-Algeciras line (Málaga and Cádiz) will be widened, with tracks relocated centrally to enable future electrification
- 13 tunnels on the Alcázar de San Juan-Cádiz line, totalling over 3.5 kilometres, including the 1,024-metre Andújar tunnel
- Tunnel works include widening sections, lowering track beds, and renewing sleepers, rails, and ballast
- Drainage and electrification improvements are part of the superstructure upgrades
- Overpass works span municipalities from Algeciras to Santa Cruz de Mudela, including Ronda, Setenil de las Bodegas, and Córdoba
- Additional overpasses between Santa Cruz de Mudela and San Fernando de Henares cover Ciudad Real, Toledo, and Madrid
- Clearance adaptations involve modifying railway platforms and overhead contact line heights
- Six metal bridges will be constructed as part of the overpass project, with repairs planned for 12 more
Works already ongoing
Spain is already working on numerous infrastructure projects in the region. For example, Adif is working to expand various Andalusian stations to accommodate 750-metre trains. It has also started installing a new signalling system on the Córdoba–Bobadilla railway for €65.8 million.
Meanwhile, Adif is also renovating the Bobadilla–Algeciras railway entirely. The infrastructure manager is renewing the tracks and expanding sidings. The railway will also get a third electrified track. The Algeciras port has been inaccessible for trains for months, but that could change soon.
Spain looks dead set on making the rail highways work. The Algeciras–Zaragoza rail highway alone has a development budget of €680 million. The initiative stems from an action agreement signed by Adif, the Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras, Aragón Plataforma Logística, and Rail&Truck.
Rail highway to boost the modal share
The idea is to boost the modal share of rail. Currently, Spanish rail only takes a very modest share of 3.33% (2025). With intermodal being the fastest-growing subsegment of the rail freight business, the rail highways could prove to be a suitable solution to get freight off the road network. Spain currently has three such services in place: Valencia–Madrid, Madrid–Badajoz and Barcelona–Perthus (France).
The Algeciras–Zaragoza rail highway plan:
- Two daily high-speed rail services in each direction on the Algeciras-Zaragoza route
- After one year: increase to three daily trains in each direction for trucks originating from/destined for Morocco
- Two daily high-speed trains (one in each direction) from Huelva to Zaragoza for trucks from/destined for the Canary Islands and Huelva area
- Four daily high-speed trains (2 in each direction) between Seville and Zaragoza for trucks from/destined for the Port of Seville and the rest of Andalusia
- Two daily high-speed trains (one in each direction) between Cádiz and Zaragoza
- Approximately 12,000 kilometres covered daily, transporting about 360 trucks
- Avoids 360,000 kilometres of truck traffic on roads per day
Adif is now also reaching the final stages of the works to adapt the Madrid-Zaragoza route to AF services, in which more than €330 million has been invested for the adaptation of structures, the improvement of railway traffic management systems and the expansion of sidings.