The Administrator of Railway Infrastructures (Adif) has tendered the contract corresponding to the execution of improvement works on the infrastructure of the segment located between Bobadilla and Ronda. This segment is an integral part of the conventional gauge railway line that connects Bobadilla with Algeciras. The baseline budget for these interventions amounts to 21,612,876.74 euros. The public entity has designed this project with the purpose of carrying out a comprehensive renewal of the track elements, as well as the adaptation of various architectural structures to allow for the future electrification of the operational network.
The technical scope of the contract includes specific actions aimed at the adaptation and replacement of overpasses. These modifications ensure that the vertical and horizontal clearance meets the technical requirements demanded by the installation of the overhead line and other components associated with the electric traction system. The main work will focus on the segment defined between kilometer points 20/000 and 26/500 of the aforementioned line, a sector that requires interventions to adapt to the new operational standards.
Among the scheduled works in this segment, the technical document details a series of improvements in the current layout, designed to adapt the geometry of the track to future operational needs. Likewise, the contractors will carry out a substantial modification of the infrastructure's drainage system. This operational phase includes the construction of nine cross drainage works and the installation of new concrete-lined ditches in areas where only earthen channels currently exist, thus preventing water accumulation and protecting the base platform.
Complementarily, the contract stipulates the execution of consolidation works on the railway platform at two different points along the route. In these locations, the project includes the construction of ballast retaining walls, structures designed to hold the rock material on which the tracks are laid, providing stability to the entire structure according to the geological characteristics of the terrain. These civil infrastructure works are supplemented by the complete replacement of the materials that make up the superstructure, which implies the complete renewal of the rails, ballast, and sleepers along the entire length of the affected segment.
This tender is part of the overall modernization program of the Bobadilla-Algeciras line, a railway corridor 176 kilometers long that serves as a logistics hub in the south of the Iberian Peninsula. To date, Adif has mobilized an investment volume exceeding 514 million euros in various phases of this deployment. The ultimate goal of these technical files is to achieve the total electrification of the line, the material renewal of its tracks, and the expansion of the existing sidings to enable the crossing of larger freight trains.
With the implementation of these improvements, the railway administration will increase the operational capacity and reliability of the infrastructure for accommodating a greater volume of heavy traffic. This line serves as the main land link to the Port of Algeciras Bay, the port area with the highest cargo traffic in the country. Its fluid connection to the interior is necessary for managing international supply chains, in line with European transport policies that promote the shift of modal share from road to rail. Likewise, this route constitutes the southern vertex where the branches of the Atlantic Corridor and the Mediterranean Corridor of the Trans-European Transport Network converge.
A technical planning element is its adaptation for the services of the future Rail Motorway (AF) on the Algeciras-Zaragoza route, a system that allows the direct loading of truck semitrailers onto the wagons. To ensure the operability of this service, Adif is carrying out additional work, such as the consolidation and stabilization of the slope situated between the municipalities of Almargen and Setenil. In parallel, expansion work is being developed inside the 21 tunnels that punctuate the line so that their dimensions are compatible with the transport of these semitrailers. Both joint actions have an awarded budget of 66.6 million euros.
In addition to these engineering works, there are other active contracts. As a current action, technical teams are working on the renewal of the track over a wider stretch between Bobadilla and Ronda, with an allocation of 52.8 million euros. While these tasks are ongoing, modernization continues in the field of systems. In the area of telecommunications, the installation of GSM-R mobile networks and the deployment of the automatic block system on the Bobadilla-Ronda stretch are under development. This safety system has already completed its installation on the route between Ronda and Algeciras. Similarly, in this last stretch, the implementation of the ASFA digital train protection system is being carried out.
Regarding electrification, Adif has recently tendered the construction of the traction substation in Marchenilla, intended to supply the Ronda-Algeciras stretch. In parallel, the entity has awarded the drafting of the construction project for the future traction substation in Ronda and its associated autotransformation centers. The transformation of this railway line aligns with the achievement of various Sustainable Development Goals, promoting sustainable and quality infrastructures, the economic development of transport nodes, and energy efficiency through electric traction.