ARCHIVED - AVE Madrid to Murcia will still arrive in 2014

There is still no date for completion of the Murcia - Cartagena AVE line

This Friday a meeting took place in Murcia city to discuss the progress of the high-speed train link projects in relation to the region of Murcia.

The Secretary of State for infrastructure, Rafael Catalá, reaffirmed the compromise of the Spanish national government to uphold the calendar already agreed for the arrival of the high-speed train network, the AVE, to arrive in Murcia during 2014 as had already been agreed by the previous government.

Sr Catalá, chaired the meeting of the two societies which have been formed to carry out the high-speed project within the region of Murcia, the societies of Murcia Alta Velocidad and  Cartagena Alta Velocidad, each of which will undertake various projects, studies and documentation required to construct the new rail network.

The meeting basically covered three different aspects of the projects: the technical aspect relating to the technical plans and preparation of the projects, the administrative element which also undertakes preliminary planning, preparation and the financial aspect which deals with the financing of the whole.

There are two elements to this project, the first being the arrival of the train into Murcia City, and the second, the extension of the line between Murcia and Cartagena.

The two councils of Murcia and Cartagena both form part of the legal entities, the societies which are involved in the development of these projects . The secretary of state ensured that all parties were under no illusions as to the lack of financing available to support infrastructural projects at the moment, and reminded the administrations involved that there was no surplus money for frivolities, asking all involved to ensure that the administration of the project was "as austere as possible."

In Murcia capital, the planning elements of this project should all be finalised by the end of 2013, and include remodelling works of the train station, amplification of the parking at the station, improvement of accesses and work to the railway intersections.
He was unwilling to commit to any sort of date regarding the arrival of the AVE in Cartagena, because "we have to work within the budgetary restraints of each year and are looking to be realistic about this," he said, "the most important thing is that the high-speed rail network reaches Murcia."

The subsequent phase of the project, the high-speed rail link between Murcia and Cartagena, will take the coastal route, following the existing lines, which are already in operation. Because the high-speed network uses a different gauge for its track, its necessary to build a completely new track, but cheaper to utilise existing infrastructure, rather than cutting in a completely new line. Originally the plans had been for the AVE line to run straight through the middle of the region, passing close to the new international airport at Corvera, but following the general elections in November, the new government had embarked on an austerity drive, part of which involved cutting back on infrastructural construction. The option of utilising an existing railway network is considerably cheaper than constructing a new line, so for this reason it has been decided to follow the coastal route and achieve the objective of linking Murcia into the railway network by the most cost-effective means possible.