The Pajares variant is one of the highest cost per kilometer high-speed segments in the world. According to the Ministry of Transport, the final investment is It will be around 4,000 euros for a route of 49.7 kilometerswhich means a cost 80 million per kilometer. That’s more than five times the average cost of high speed in Spain, which doesn’t even reach 15 million per kilometer.
Bypass figures cannot be compared to any other high-speed section built on the Peninsula. The most expensive per kilometer opened so far is the Atocha-Chamartín tunnel in Madrid, with a length of just 7,000 meters and costing 338 million, or 48 million per kilometer.
The last two high-speed sections opened in Spain are also well below the Bypass in terms of cost per kilometer.. Thus, Antequera-Granada, which was opened to commercial traffic in 2019, cost 1.675 million for an 86-kilometer journey, which is 20 million per kilometer. Pedralba-Orense, the last open section of the AVE to Galicia, spent 2.965 million on a route of 119.4 kilometers in 2021, which is just under 25 million per kilometer.
If all parts of the AVE going to Galicia are taken between Olmedo, Santiago and La Coruña, the differences become even greater. According to the official data of the Ministry, the AVE investment made in Galicia, together with the Atlantic Axis, amounted to 10,950 million dollars. Taking into account the investment (4,180 million) between Olmedo and Madrid, bringing high speed to Galicia’s main cities represents a total investment of 15,130 million. Considering that the total route reaches 418 kilometers, the cost is just under 36 million per kilometer; i.e. less than half of the Variant.
The contrast is further increased when the bypass is compared to segments passing through regions with much more favorable orographics.. Thus, the 166-kilometer route between Valladolid and Leon cost 1,620 million in 2015, which is less than 10 million per kilometer, one-eighth the cost of traveling from Asturias to Meseta. If the price of the coin is updated, it will not reach 12 million per kilometer. Other examples would be the departments of Monforte del Cid-Murcia (23 million per kilometer), Madrid-Valladolid (25), Córdoba-Málaga (17), Madrid-Barcelona-Figueras (16) or Madrid-Albacete/Valencia (14).
One of the lines with the lowest cost per km was the Madrid-Sevilla line, which opened in Spain for the first time in 1992. kilometer . If we update the investment to the current euro, the cost will be about 11 million per kilometer.
outside of Spain
What is happening in other countries? More of the same: high-speed mileage is slightly above average 60 million in Italyabove 50 in Japansome 40 in Korea, Germany and Taiwanabout 20 in France and 10 in China. Some specific examples are Stuttgart-Munich, Milan-Venice (43), Frankfurt-Cologne (33), Turin-Salerno (32), Berlin-Munich, which costs 50 million per kilometer (22) or Ren- Rhone (19).
The reasons for these enormous differences in the costs of the lines are mainly related to orography. A study by the Foundation for Applied Economics Studies (Fedea) explains that construction costs depend on “various factors specific to the characteristics of the area and decisions regarding the design and functions of the high-speed project.” It should be noted that the costs are higher in urban and densely populated areas and in hilly areas with unfavorable terrain requiring viaducts and tunnels, as in the example of the Pajares Bypass. Required the construction of 11 viaducts and 13 tunnels.
In a study conducted by the Independent Financial Responsibility Authority (AIREF), in a study on transportation infrastructure in 2020, it is noted that the average cost per kilometer of a high-speed line in the world in general varies between 10 and 40 million euros. , “from 5 to 25 million euros in Spain and France”, while the costs of existing lines in Europe tend to be even lower.
He details the unit cost of the sections “ranging from €5 million per kilometer on relatively flat surfaces to €40 million on more complex terrain.” In the case of tunnels, their cost per kilometer can range from €25 to €35m for cross-section (in square metres) and double-track tunnels, to €50 to €70m for tunnels with two or more tubes,” he adds. Factors such as whether there is a road on the floor or on the ballast, siding or number of baffles, electrification type, communication, signaling or security systems also increase costs.
In case of variant, Its high cost is due to the fact that it is the most complex public works work ever done in Spain.. A massive study at more than 1,000 meters in depth, forcing engineers to come up with unprecedented technical solutions to terrain instability and flooding.
The numbers are impressive: more than 200 kilometers of rails, thousands of sleepers weighing 400 kilograms each, hundreds of concrete slabs weighing more than 4,000 kilograms each, hundreds of kilometers of cables and pipes, more than a hundred fans weighing more than a meter, each with a diameter of more than 140 to be placed by cranes. Slopes are up to 45 meters long, requiring a gauge changer with more sensors and a part weighing more than 45 tons, seven retaining walls with two million cubic meters of earth slid over them and fixed with steel cables. And it doesn’t stop there: 5.2 million cubic meters have been excavated in the Pajares tunnels alone, about 227,248 voussoirs reinforced with 90,000 kilos of steel, about 800,000 cubic meters of concrete used in just the two main tunnels. , kilometers of conveyor belts to transport materials, a treatment plant that can manage 1,234 cubic meters of water per day, and a landfill with a capacity of two million cubic meters.
Construction of La Variante began in February 2004 with the idea of opening it to commercial traffic in 2010.. It therefore accumulates 13 years behind schedule. Ministry representatives will meet with the leaders of the Principality Government tomorrow to advance when the Variant, where circulation tests have been carried out since September 2021, will open.
In the pending works, the winning bidders have completed the fire protection, detection, energy, communication and ventilation equipment of the tunnels, and they are continuing to complete the assembly of the galleries and technical rooms. In addition, systems are tested. With regard to the fixed telecommunication facilities and protection and security systems for the Galicia-Pajares bifurcation section, and the contract for laying a fiber optic cable between Pajares and the Pola de Lena bifurcation via the West tunnel, work is currently in the internal testing phase. validation and system integration.
Adaptation to the third lane and to the European traffic management system (ERTMS level 2) is in its final stages., while testing continues on the full scope of the variant. Access, evacuation and adaptation of protection and security installations in tunnels await completion. Construction of three evacuation galleries from the Vega de Ciego and Pico de Siero tunnels is underway, and work is underway in the Campomanes “argayón” tunnel, but this latest action does not stipulate the initiation of the Bypass.
External construction works are also in progress: the helipads on the south side of the Bypass have been completed, and the construction of the northern helipad in the Asturias region has been completed. In addition, studies are being carried out to replace the existing treatment plant with a new treatment plant, but this study does not require the commissioning of the line.