The Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility has put into service the electrification of the 195 kilometers of high-speed roads linking Plasencia, Cáceres, Mérida and Badajoz, a milestone that will allow greater reliability in circulations, reduce travel time by a few minutes and promote more sustainable mobility through the use of renewable energy.
Thus, the first Alvia trains with electric traction begin to circulate in the Monfragüe-Cáceres–Mérida–Badajoz section, which transport more than 90,000 passengers a year in both directions. In this sense, that these travelers travel the more than 190 km that separate Badajoz and Monfragüe by electric train instead of by car will contribute to generate an energy saving of 732 tons equivalent of oil and avoid the emission of 2,674 tons of CO2 to the atmosphere.
The electrification of the Plasence-Badajoz section, with an investment of 90 million euros, is based on an AC system of 2x25 kV and 50 hertz frequency. The power supply to the line is carried out by means of traction substations that transform the voltage from 400 kV to 2x25 kV, which is what the catenary requires. This feeding system is the one deployed in the new high-speed lines of Spain.
With this system, moreover, the distance between traction substations is extended (to about 60-65 km), optimizing the deployment of these facilities and reducing the impact on the environment and the environment.
In parallel, Adif AV advances in the implementation of the ERTMS level 2 train control and command system (European Railway Traffic Management System) and the track assembly and electrification of the Mérida bypass.
State-of-the-art installations and more reliability
The catenary route began in the first place in 125 km between Plasencia and the Peñas Blancas Bifurcation (about 18 km north of Mérida), a stretch that includes the stations of Plasencia and Cáceres. Subsequently, it was deployed between the Peñas Blancas Branch and the Portuguese border and from Aljucén to Mérida in 103 km, where the stations of Mérida, Aljucén, Montijo and Badajoz are located.
The installed catenary is interoperable, of type C-350, used for the new high-speed lines in Spain. For its installation, more than 5,000 posts were hoisted along the route.
In addition, some sections of the conventional network connected to the corridor have been electrified, necessary to achieve an integral functionality.
The Plasencia-Badajoz stretch has three traction substations, located in Cañaveral (Cáceres), Carmonita and Sagrajas (Badajoz). In addition to transforming the tension, its mission is to power other systems, such as tunnel lighting, needle heating, mobile telecommunications or technical buildings.
It also has 12 self-transformation centers, responsible for distributing energy throughout the catenary. These centers are located between the traction substations, at a distance of about 10 km approximately. The section also has energy remote control, which performs remote control and supervision from the Center for Regulation and Circulation (CRC) of the electric traction substations and the catenary.
The first stretch of the high-speed corridor
The Plasencia–Caceres–Mérida–Badajoz connection, in service since 2022, has 195 km of electrified tracks, including 150 km of newly built track and the conventional corridor-connected network sections that give it integral functionality. Designed in standard width and for mixed traffic (passengers and goods), it has double track for most of its route.
The stretch between Plasencia and Badajoz is the first stretch in service of the three that make up the high-speed corridor to Extremadura. While working on completing the corridor, this line links the region with the center of the country, connecting from Monfragüe to the conventional railway line, which was optimized with an investment of 55 million euros.
In particular, the signalling and telecommunications facilities of the 230 km of the conventional railway line between Monfragüe and Humanes (Madrid) were renovated so that trains travel with the same signalling and safety systems throughout the route to Madrid, thus reinforcing the reliability and circulation capacity of the conventional wide line Madrid-Valencia de Alcántara.
European funding
This action is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). A way to make Europe.