Metrotrén Asturias is a project to enhance the

Cercanías Asturias Cercanías Asturias is a commuter rail service operating in Autonomous Community of Asturias, mainly in the central area of the region. Lines with Iberian gauge There are three lines, all of them managed by Renfe Operadora: Lines with Me ...

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Downtown, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter r ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

autonomous community of

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensiv ...

, primarily by way of an underground tunnel through the city of

Gijón Gijón () or () is a city and municipality in north-western Spain. It is the largest city and municipality by population in the autonomous community of Asturias. It is located on the coast of the Cantabrian Sea in the Bay of Biscay, in the cent ...

.Todotrenes:
Metrotrén, la revolución en las cercanías
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History

The project for the renovation of the suburban railway network of Asturias was presented in August 2000 by the Ministry of Development. It consisted mainly in the creation of a new tunnel of 3,858 meters in length in

between the Humedal station and the roundabout of Viesques, which included three new stations: Begoña, El Bibio and Viesques.La Nueva España, �http://www.lne.es/gijon/2011/01/14/destiempos-metrotren/1019380.html Los destiempos del Metrotrén� The construction of this tunnel began on June 10, 2003 and ended in December 2006, although only the El Bibio station and a technical station were built on Avenida Justo del Castillo. The project, by increasing the density of rail transport in Gijón and being buried, was known as the "Gijón metro". During the construction of the tunnel, the Ministry of Development changed its criteria regarding the rest of the project's actions, deciding that it be extended to reach the Cabueñes area, thus doubling the length of the section. In addition, the construction of two new stations, an interchange, and the replacement of the planned Begoña station by another in the Plaza de Europa were included. This second phase remained paralyzed from the end of the previous phase, with the tunnel remaining unused for the whole time. The complete definition of the second phase ended in 2009, with the remaining cost estimated at €360 million, with an action along 7 km between the Humedal and Cabueñes. The development of this second part began in 2011 through public-private financing, and involves the provisional diversion of the FEVE lines from the Humedal station to the provisional station of Sanz Crespo, which was started in February 2011. This section will have dual-gauge tracks to be used by both Ibergian-gauge Renfe Operadora and

metre-gauge Metre-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. The metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by European colonial powers, such as the French, British and German Empires. In Europe, la ...

Renfe FEVE Renfe Feve is a division of state-owned Spanish railway company Renfe Operadora. It operates most of Spain's of railway. This division of Renfe was previously a stand-alone company named FEVE (Ferrocarriles de Vía Estrecha,Law 11/1965 of ...

trains. The project also consists of improvements at other railway stations in Asturias, such as those located in Avilés.

Current situation

In 2017, it was announced that work on the Metrotrén tunnel is due to resume in 2019 and conclude in 2023. In 2020, the Spanish government

railway infrastructure manager A railway infrastructure manager is "any body or undertaking that is responsible in particular for establishing and maintaining railway infrastructure. This may also include the management of infrastructure control and safety systems. The functions ...

Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias (Adif) confirmed that the previous plan for

Renfe Feve Renfe Feve is a division of state-owned Spanish railway company Renfe Operadora. It operates most of Spain's of railway. This division of Renfe was previously a stand-alone company named FEVE (Ferrocarriles de Vía Estrecha,Law 11/1965 of ...

lines to share the tunnel with mainline Iberian-gauge lines would be dropped, with only the Iberian-gauge Gijón to Avilés line via Oviedo using the tunnel.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Metrotrén Asturias Transport in Asturias