Adif AV, the infrastructure manager for the Spanish high-speed rail (HSR) network, has started tests of the overhead contact line geometry on the Plasencia – Badajoz section of the Madrid – Extremadura HSR line. With this, Adif AV is making progress with the electrification of the 125 km section through the provinces of Cáceres and Badajoz. The BT test train, which has been converted into a test vehicle, contactlessly measures the parameters of the contact wire position (height, offset and inclination) at speeds of up to 200 km/h. After completion of the measurements, the BT is to carry out the same test runs on the 110 km section between Peñas Blancas and the Portuguese border in Badajoz. The first, 150 km Plasencia – Cáceres – Mérida – Badajoz section on the Madrid – Extremadura HSR line started operation in July 2022, and electrification work has not yet been completed.
