Adif Alta Velocidad has completed the installation of a new track layout at the Murcia Mercancías logistics centre.
The intervention represents the final major infrastructure, and track works on the section between Murcia del Carmen station and the Murcia Mercancías yard. The logistics centre is being refurbished to take over passenger and freight traffic from the Chinchilla–Cartagena line once services resume, in parallel with the opening of the first phase of the new Murcia del Carmen station and the conventional-gauge rail corridor.
In addition, the works are intended to adapt the site to current and future requirements for rail freight traffic. Murcia Mercancías is planned to play a central operational role within the Mediterranean Corridor in the south-east of the peninsula.
Track installation was completed following the final phase of works, which started on 8 November at the Lorca end of the terminal, where it connects with the Chinchilla–Cartagena line. This phase included the installation of seven mixed-gauge turnouts, the placement of around 1,800 cubic metres of ballast, and the laying of 7.5 km of rail on approximately 1,100 multipurpose concrete sleepers. The works required the use of specialised machinery such as tamping and profiling equipment.
At the same time, construction continues on a new operational base at the Murcia Mercancías site. This includes a Maintenance and Circulation building with a planned surface area of more than 3,300 m².
The track works and the new building represent a combined investment of nearly EUR 11.8 million.
Adif AV is also progressing with the Murcia–Almería high-speed line, part of the Mediterranean Corridor, with total investment exceeding EUR 3.6 billion. Works are under way at several locations and cover platform construction, infrastructure, track, electrification, traffic management systems, signalling and safety installations.
The Murcia–Almería line, with a length of almost 200 km, will provide a direct rail connection between the two cities. Almería will be linked to the high-speed network via the Levante corridor and connected to the wider European rail network, with implications for both passenger services and rail freight traffic in the south-east of Spain.
