The Spanish Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility has taken a new step towards reopening the international Spanish-French railway connection through Canfranc.
A 2.76 million euro service contract has been put out to tender to draw up the construction project to upgrade the Somport tunnel on the Zaragoza-Canfranc-Pau line.
This project will be divided into two phases and will define the necessary civil and track works to upgrade the 7.8 km-long international railway tunnel, built between 1908 and 1915.
The reopening of this connection closed since 1970 following an accident on the French side, will mean a significant improvement in the cross-border transit of passengers and goods between important logistical nodes in Spain and France.
The project is based on a preliminary informative study that proposes an estimated investment of 93 million euros for the extension and renovation of the tunnel. This initiative is part of a joint effort between Spain and France to re-establish international traffic between Pau and Zaragoza, thus improving connections between the two countries.
This line is part of the TEN-T Global network (TEN-T) and Transports is already working on its conversion to international gauge and its connection with the Mediterranean Corridor.