The Mediterranean Rail Corridor reaches Almería Port following the Med all the way from the French border only to head inland from there to Granada.

That’s the plan and there is not much ‘Mediterranean’ about it, really because it should logically continue to Motril Port and from there on to Málaga and beyond but it won’t because it will head inland to Granada and then to the coast again to reach Malaga Port.

But even by taking the ‘cheaper’ route inland, it is still going to cost a lot, despite what the then Minister for Public Works in 2017 said – the idea was to change the rail gauge from Spanish gauge (1,668 mm) to international gauge (1,435 mm) and then electrify the line.

You see, they wanted to use an existing line, even if it does go inland instead of along the  coast. the other snag is that it is only a single line so trains will have to be side lined into sidings to let priority trains pass.

We’re talking about 500-million euros to overhaul the Almería/Granada line because you not only need to change the gauge, but  you also have to alter all the bridges and cuttings if you want a 2-way line. It was originally calculated that it would cost 360-million euros… and believe me; you can have a good night out on the difference!

Actually, there was a  plan in 2009 to build a  high-speed line from scratch but that had a price  tag of 2,500-million euros.

The line (Almería-Guadix-Moreda-Granada) that they want to revamp was started in 1890 and completed in 1904. An 8 km section of line was laid anew in 1987 to eliminate a gradient that  required four engines to be hooked up in order to haul minerals from the Minas de Alquife up hill.

The line wasn’t even ‘attractive’ for passenger traffic because by train it took two and a half hours, whereas by bus it was half an hour quicker. By car it only takes one hour, 45 minutes.

So, at the moment, you need two engines (not four, thanks to the 1987 changes) to haul goods between Almería and Granada and it takes 150 minutes… and not all Renfre trains are capable of using the line with its gradient. Therefore you need two engines and not any two engines.

OK, so you will have to widen the track, the bridges, the cuttings and, eliminate the worse gradients… bingo 500m euros!

The Spanish Government made a pledge to the EU to complete the Mediterranean rail corridor by 2030, so there is only eight years to go…

Even if they do manage  to overhaul the line, it still leaves Motril Port as the only one on the Mediterranean without a rail connection.

(News: Granada, Andalucia)