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Date Published: 28/04/2022

ARCHIVED - High-speed AVE train from Murcia to Orihuela could be up and running by the end of the year

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

The new rail connection linking Orihuela and Murcia is ahead of schedule, and may be ready by the new year

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - High-speed AVE train from Murcia to Orihuela could be up and running by the end of the year

Spanish railway construction administrator Adif is to begin testing its new high-speed AVE train between Murcia and Orihuela this spring, ahead of schedule and ready for the service to begin transporting passengers next year, or maybe even before the end of this year.

Adif’s original plan was to open the line this year, but in recent months the company has begun to contemplate postponing the inauguration until early 2023.

Once they finish the process of making sure the new trainline is safe and secure, the results will be sent to the State Railway Safety Agency, which will carry out its own checks before authorising the start-up of the rail section that will link El Carmen station with the Mediterranean Corridor and will allow passengers to travel to Madrid without having to change trains.

They have not specified how long these checks will take. The tests of the high-speed line were due to begin in August or September 2022, but this advance in the schedule of the work means the AVE train journey may even be open to passengers before the end of this year.

The high-speed train arrived in Orihuela at the beginning of February 2021, and since then several transport links were established between Orihuela, Cartagena and Murcia to facilitate the high-speed connection with Madrid.

Currently, there is a lengthy and cumbersome bus replacement service on many parts of the line, that may be in place until 2025, according to some estimates.

It is not possible to take a direct journey from Murcia to Madrid on the Chinchilla line, as the section from Murcia to Alcantarilla has been closed since the end of February 2022 while work is carried out to the tracks. Trains to Madrid have been leaving from Archena station since then, forcing passengers to travel by bus to Archena and then change trains at Albacete station.

Read more: New Murcia to Madrid train route practically empty on first day of operation

The Renfe train operator currently offers connections from Cartagena, Torre Pacheco and Murcia with three high-speed trains from Orihuela to Madrid, as well as transport links to the AVE from Alicante via the urban Cercanías trains, which are free of charge.

Image: Wikimedia commons

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