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Spanish PM inaugurates 165km of new high-speed track

Xinhua, September 29, 2015 Adjust font size:

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy inaugurated a further 165 km track to add to the Spanish high-speed rail network on Tuesday.

The 165 km track that links the cities of Valladolid, Palencia and Leon in the center and north-west of the country, means that Spain now uses a total of 3,265 km of high-speed track, a distance only outdone by China.

What makes the section between Valladolid and Leon special, however, is that for 85 of the 165 km, the track runs in only one direction, meaning trains travelling in the opposite direction have to give way. This decision was taken to cut costs.

It is the only single-direction section of high-speed track in the world, although it has been built so that a second track could be added without major problems if needed in the future.

Meanwhile, the line is being opened without the most up-to- date ERTMS security system, which is designed to avoid collisions, maintains continual vigilance on the speed trains when they are moving, and is able to automatically apply the brakes if needed.

It was the absence of the ERTMS system that was partly to blame for the 2013 rail accident in Santiago de Compostela, which cost 79 lives. Until the system is installed, trains between Valladolid will have to rely on the older ASFA system, which limits the maximum speed to 200 km per hour, as opposed to the maximum of 300 km per hour the line is designed to operate on with the correct safety system.

Meanwhile, further work is ongoing to extend the high-speed network to the north of Spain to towns such as Burgos and Zamora. Endit