Spain’s Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, today supervised the ERTMS system tests on the Badajoz-Plasencia section of the Extremadura high-speed rail network on board the Avril 106-060.
The entry into service of this system will increase the maximum speed of this section to 300 km/h. However, only Avril trains are authorised to reach them on the Iberian gauge, and due to the lack of electrification, it cannot run between Humanes and Plasencia.
The maximum speed at which series 730 trains can run will be 220 km/h. Even so, Transportes indicates that journey times between Madrid and Badajoz will be reduced by between 20 and 45 minutes, which means that it will be possible to travel in less than 4 hours for the first time in history.
The ERTMS tests, which started on 27 March, also allow the interaction with the infrastructure and the catenary to be tested at speeds between 200 km/h and 300 km/h.
During his visit to Extremadura, the minister announced that the Mérida bypass was already authorised for commissioning, while work on the Talayuela-Plasencia section trackbed will be completed this year.
