The Spanish Ministry of Transport has awarded a contract worth around EUR 534,000 for a study of options for connecting the Córdoba – Jaén corridor to the Madrid – Seville high-speed rail (HSR) line. The plan is to build a new connecting curve with a gauge change between the HSR line and the conventional line, instead of the current requirement to change trains at Jaén station. The Ministry estimates the investment volume for the project at EUR 400 million. The aim is to connect Jaén to the HSR network and reduce the journey time between Madrid and Jaén to around three hours. The project links TEN-T lines in the Mediterranean and Atlantic corridors and is based on an existing feasibility study with five routing options, from which the final selection is now to be made as part of the study. It complements other network development measures in the province of Jaén, including a EUR 2.2 million study on network integration in the city of Jaén and a EUR 4 million contract to improve access to the station area.
