The Spanish and Moroccan governments have revived plans to build a railway tunnel under the Strait of Gibraltar. The Spanish engineering company Ineco was commissioned by Spain to update a feasibility study and cost estimates from 2007, which was originally carried out by Typsa in collaboration with Ingema from Morocco, Lombardi from Switzerland, and Geodata from Italy. Ineco will analyse alternative routes, safety and feasibility aspects. European and African credit institutions will be used to finance the estimated costs of €5 to 10 billion. The shortest distance between Spain and Morocco is 14 km, but poses a considerable challenge during construction due to the sea depth of around 1,000 metres. Ineco is therefore considering longer routes of around 28 km at shallower depths of less than 300 metres. A single-track tunnel is planned, which could be supplemented by a parallel second tunnel in the future, which would be used for both rail passenger transport and rail freight transport. Talks on the project have reportedly already been held with the US Geological Survey in Europe and the tunnelling machine manufacturer Herrenknecht.
