The rail link between Ronda and Algeciras, which stopped on October 26th 2009 so that major renovations could be carried out, is set to re-open in April.
The comprehensive track renovation is costing €176 million with much of the work being centred on extending the vertical clearance of fourteen tunnels to accommodate the future electrification of the line.
For the first time in Andalucia, concrete sleepers are being used to accommodate a third track which will allow use by both conventional and international wide-gauge traffic, including high-speed trains.
The chairman of the Railway Infrastructure Administration (ADIF), Antonio González, visited the works on the Ronda-Cortes de la Frontera section of the Bobadilla-Algeciras line. Once work on this section is completed, the next stage is between San Pablo de Buceite and Algeciras, a project that could go out to tender later this year.
Once the Algeciras-Ronda-Bobadilla line is completed, the travelling time between Algeciras and madrid will be three hours and forty minutes.