{"id":134995,"date":"2024-09-30T18:58:21","date_gmt":"2024-09-30T08:58:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=56603"},"modified":"2024-09-30T18:58:21","modified_gmt":"2024-09-30T08:58:21","slug":"spain-proposes-alternative-to-reopen-the-somport-tunnel-through-the-pyrenees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=134995","title":{"rendered":"Spain proposes alternative to reopen the Somport Tunnel through the Pyrenees"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spain wants to invest around 93 million euros to reopen the Somport Tunnel, a railway tunnel connecting the country with France across the Pyrenees, part of the Pau-Canfranc line closed since 1970. The decision comes after an Informative Study proposed three different alternatives for the reopening of the Somport Tunnel.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>The first alternative, selected as the best one by the Spanish Ministry of Transport, entails the removal of the existing cladding, which would be replaced by a 20 cm lining. This would also lead to \u201cover-excavating the original rock cavity as necessary\u201d.<\/p>\n

The second alternative proposed in the study includes keeping the existing cladding of the tunnel and adding a 10 cm extra layer for fire and water protection. Moreover, the bottom of the tunnel would be lowered. The third and last alternative presuppose new interior cladding on top of the existing one to try and \u201celiminate the risk posed by the uncertainty of the structural capacity\u201d, the Ministry added. The Spanish public will now have 30 working days from the publication of the study to submit comments on the initative.<\/p>\n