SPAIN’s high-speed rail network infrastructure manager, Adif AV, has awarded two contracts worth a total of €126.5m to a consortium of Hitachi Rail and Sistem to install signalling and traffic management systems and equipment on the second, 70km section of the Madrid - Extremadura high-speed line from Plasencia east to Talayuela.
The first contract worth €118.3m includes the installation of interlockings, train protection systems, and ERTMS Level 2. The consortium will also implement a Centralised Traffic Control (CTC) system, which will enable remote and real-time management of all these elements.
The second €8.2m contract includes the installation of GSM-R mobile railway telecommunications equipment.
In addition, the consortium will be responsible for maintaining the equipment for two years.
Adif AV has also awarded a €31m contract for the construction of a track assembly base at Navalmoral de la Mata covering an area of 140,000m2.
The first 150km section of Madrid - Extremadura line between Plasencia, Cáceres and Badajoz opened in 2022 with electrification completed a year later. Adif AV is now completing tests to put ERTMS Level 2 into service. This line is 1668mm gauge, but has sleepers which will allow conversion to standard gauge, while the sections east of Plasencia towards Madrid will be 1435mm gauge.
Adif AV says the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility is working on defining the route for the third section from Oropesa to Madrid.
Improvements are also being made to Extremadura's conventional rail network. Renovation of the Mérida - Puertollano and Mérida - Zafra - Los Rosales lines is underway, while plans are being drawn up to electrify the Madrid - Valencia de Alcántara line.
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