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Date Published: 16/10/2024

Work on Cartagena high-speed rail link hoped to begin in 2027

The port city could finally be part of the Mediterranean Corridor before the end of the decade

At long last, the mechanisms have been approved that will allow interested promotors to begin bidding for the project of construction work to bring the AVE high-speed rail service to Cartagena.

This process has a budget of almost 7.5 million euros and work is not expected to start until 2027 at the earliest.

Spain’s Secretary of State for Transport and Sustainable Mobility, José Antonio Santano, said this week that it was impossible to give even a rough estimate of the project’s completion. Instead, he wanted to convey calm, affirming that “once work begins, it always ends”.

Murcia city got its first high-speed (or ‘Alta Velocidad’) rail connection to Madrid via Alicante and Albacete in December 2022, and since then has been a popular train route for passengers.

Work is also currently underway to bring the AVE to Lorca and Almería, meaning Cartagena is arriving late to the party.

The Spanish Government will be responsible for 50% of the funding for bringing the AVE to Cartagena, with the remaining 50% to be shared equally between the Region of Murcia’s government and the City Council of Cartagena.

What needs to happen before the AVE can reach Cartagena – a public transport link that would greatly improve connectivity between the city and the rest of Spain and Europe via the so-called ‘Mediterranean Corridor’ – is that the 800-metre stretch of railway from Torreciega and El Hondón to the Víctor Beltrí Station, which is being refurbished and will have 7 lanes, will need to be buried underground.

There is also the Riquelme-Torre Pacheco section to be built, with works scheduled for completion in 2027, and before the end of the year Santano hopes to award the contract for the work that will link Torre Pacheco with Cartagena.

“With these three sections underway, what remains is the definitive integration of the train in Cartagena to close the circle of the Murcia-Cartagena railway connection, which has an investment of more than 600 million euros,” he said.

As well as high-speed passenger trains connecting Cartagena to Murcia and the rest of the country by AVE, there are also plans to include a freight route with the Port of Cartagena into the line, allowing greater movement of goods to and from the port.

Image: Felipe G. Pagán / Ayuntamiento de Cartagena

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