The Murcia–Almería high-speed rail line is an under-construction railway in the

Region of Murcia The Region of Murcia (, ; ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain located in the southeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. The region is in area and had a popul ...

and

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

History

Murcia and Almería were once linked by rail from Lorca to

Guadix Guadix (, ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in southern Spain, in the Granada (province), province of Granada. The city lies at an altitude of 913 metres, in the centre of the Hoya of Guadix, a high plain at the northern footh ...

via Baza, however this line closed in 1985. When the

AVE is a Latin word, used by the Roman Empire, Romans as a salutation (greeting), salutation and greeting, meaning 'wikt:hail, hail'. It is the singular imperative mood, imperative form of the verb , which meant 'Well-being, to be well'; thus on ...

high speed rail network opened in 1992, it continued to expand, with the

Madrid–Levante high-speed rail network The Madrid–Levante high-speed network is a network of high-speed rail lines that connects Madrid with the Mediterranean coast of the Levante Region, specifically with Castilla-La Mancha, the Valencian Community and the Murcia Region autonomou ...

reaching

Alicante railway station Alicante Terminal () is the central railway station of Alicante, Spain. Commonly referred locally as the RENFE station, the station is part of Adif system, and is a terminal station. The station accommodates RENFE long-distance and medium-distance ...

in 2013, and

Murcia del Carmen railway station Murcia del Carmen railway station is the main railway station in the Spanish city of Murcia. Services The Cercanías Murcia/Alicante commuter rail network connects Murcia del Carmen with Alicante railway station and Águilas through lines C-1 an ...

in 2022. A continuation from Murcia to Almería railway station was proposed, and construction of the new high-speed line began in 2010, but was suspended due to political disagreements. In 2017 the Spanish government announced that work would restart in 2019, to be completed by 2023. The railway's estimated completion date has since been pushed to 2026.

Route

The line will serve as a continuation of the

at Murcia, serving stations at Lorca and

Vera Vera may refer to: Names *Vera (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Vera (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) **Vera (), archbishop of the archdiocese of Tarr ...

before terminating in Almería. It will include two standard-gauge high-speed tracks for passenger trains with a maximum speed of and a parallel 1668 mm Iberian gauge track for freight. The trip from Murcia to Almería is expected to take 1 hour 5 minutes, and 3.5 hours to Madrid, compared to the current six hours taken using the existing Linares Baeza–Almería railway.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murcia-Almeria high-speed rail line High-speed railway lines in Spain Almería Murcia Region of Murcia Province of Almería Standard-gauge railways in Spain