The King and Pedro Sánchez inaugurate today the high speed in Extremadura, after investing 1,700 million euros

It will initially circulate as conventional width, limiting the average speed of the entire route

MADRID, 18 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) -

King Felipe VI chairs this Monday, together with the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, the inaugural journey of the first phase of the Plasencia-Badajoz high-speed platform, between the Cáceres and Badajoz stations, which has had an investment of €1.7 billion.

The inaugural trip will also be attended by the Minister of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, Raquel Sánchez; the president of the Junta de Extremadura, Guillermo Fernández Vara; the president of Adif, María Luisa Domínguez; or the president of Renfe, Isaías Táboas, among other authorities.

The inaugural trip will depart at 4:30 p.m. this Monday from the Cáceres station, and after stopping in Mérida, it will arrive in Badajoz at 5:50 p.m., where an institutional act to inaugurate this section will take place, in the station square, after which he will undertake the return to Cáceres.

The new High-Speed ​​Line (LAV), which links Plasencia, Cáceres, Mérida and Badajoz, is almost 150 kilometers long and represents an investment of 1,700 million euros in the construction of the infrastructure that is now put into service.

The section is the first of the three that make up the high-speed corridor to Extremadura, for which a total investment of some 3,700 million euros is estimated, and which will be completed with two other sections: Madrid-Oropesa and Tayuela-Plasencia, the latter running.

Its layout includes unique structures, such as the Santa Marina (3.4 kilometres) and Puerto Viejo (1 km) tunnels, as well as 28 viaducts; among them, Almonte (996 meters), Río Tajo (1.5 km) and Valdetravieso (1.6 km).

The first two have been developed under the 'concrete arch' typology, with main spans of 384 meters in the case of Almonte --which makes it one of the concrete bridges with the longest span railway arch in the world-- and 324 meters, in the case of the Río Tajo viaduct.

This first phase will be put into service with Iberian gauge tracks with multipurpose sleepers, which allows the future change to standard gauge, together with ASFA Digital signaling (Announcement of Signals and Automatic Braking). For this reason, initially it will be exploited in conventional width, thus limiting the average speed of the entire route.

The increase in the average speed along the route --it will allow maximum speeds of 200 kilometers per hour--, together with the new signaling and traffic control facilities, will mean an improvement in both travel times and traffic reliability .

In addition to the construction of the railway infrastructure, Adif has carried out major renovations at the Plasencia, Cáceres, Mérida and Badajoz stations, for more than 15 million, in order to provide them with the characteristics, services and features necessary to accommodate high-speed railway.

The works have included the comprehensive reform of the passenger buildings and their entrances, as well as actions aimed at accessibility and integration into the urban fabric.