The Council of Ministers, at its meeting today, has authorized the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (Mitma) to tender, through Adif, the contract to modernize part of the catenary of the metric width network of Cantabria for an estimated value of 12.1 million euros (VAT not included) and an execution time of 9 months. The objective is to improve the reliability of the power supply of the line, even in case of incidents, and enhance the circulation capacity of the network.
Thus, with this action, framed in the Proximity Plan of Cantabria, all the catenary disconnectors of the network will be renewed, while they will be included in a remote control system that will allow to monitor and control automatically these safety devices of the air line of contact.
The catenary disconnectors are devices that allow an electrical circuit to be mechanically separated from its power supply, isolating it in a section of the line. In this way, it is possible, for example, to preserve the safety of the work in the electrical network or to isolate a part of the catenary with incidents and continue the operation in the rest of the circuit.
The works include all the installation and integration actions of these equipment, the supplies, assembly, configuration and start-up.
More performances in the metric width network
This work is part of the Proximity Plan that Cantabria has already mobilized, through Adif, 883 million euros of the 991 million euros planned. Of these, 364.4 million euros correspond to the network of Iberian width and 626.6 million to that of metric width.
The plan includes an ambitious project to modernize the power grid. In this sense, the Ministry, through Adif, works on the construction of the new substation in Requejada and the renovation of the substation of Puente San Miguel (both in the Santander-Cabezón de la Sal line), and in the Orejo (Santander-Liérganes line) with an investment of 6 million euros.
In parallel with these improvements in electrification, other actions are under way in the Cantabrian metric width network, including the installation of the BAB signalling system in several sections of the network, funded by 34.6 million euros, in order to maximize the operability of the tracks and improve their operation, especially in case of traffic incidents.
In addition, the reinforcement of the Raos viaduct (2.4 million euros) and the installation of new signage in the Astillero-Orejo stretch, with an investment of 5.5 million euros, are in tender. To these projects are added the works of duplication of 7 km of track of this last stretch - already awarded -, with an investment of 37.3 million euros.
The actions, included in the plan for the renewal and maintenance of the conventional network, which includes duplication of tracks, improvement of security and telecommunications facilities, optimization of slopes and trenches, improvement of accessibility in stations, renovation of interlocks and the suppression or improvement of the protection of steps at level, contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 9, which promotes reliable, sustainable and quality infrastructures.