{"id":1527,"date":"2016-02-02T19:52:01","date_gmt":"2016-02-02T18:52:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.revistaitransporte.com\/en\/los-viajeros-dan-el-si-al-eje-atlantico\/"},"modified":"2016-02-26T04:07:29","modified_gmt":"2016-02-26T03:07:29","slug":"passengers-give-the-thumbs-up-to-the-atlantic-axis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revistaitransporte.com\/passengers-give-the-thumbs-up-to-the-atlantic-axis\/","title":{"rendered":"Passengers give the “thumbs up” to the Atlantic Axis"},"content":{"rendered":"

With more than three million travellers in 2015, according to data from the Ministry of Public Works, passengers have given the \u2018thumbs up\u2019 to the Atlantic Axis, a railway infrastructure designed for speeds of up to 250 km\/h. The renovation, electrification and duplication of existing routes in addition to the construction of new bypasses and several viaducts, bridges and tunnels have made it possible to transition from the old, non-electrified single tracks to high-performance rail infrastructure: greater speeds, capacity, safety, frequency and comfort for passengers who save up to 58% in travel time. In addition to making renovations to the rolling stock, Renfe has also maintained fares and reorganised rail services which are now divided into \u201cexpress\u201d and \u201clocal\u201d services to cover direct routes between large cities as well as between the urban centres near these cities.<\/p>\n

Ineco collaborated in the execution of these projects which have revitalised railway transport in Galicia. According to data from the Railway Observatory of the Ministry of Public Works, the A Coru\u00f1a-Santiago route is one of the top five regional rail lines for traffic in all of Spain. The Businessmen\u2019s Association of Galicia (C\u00edrculo de Empresarios de Galicia) considers that the growth in traffic along this route \u2013a growth of more than 90% between 2008 and 2013\u2013 is \u201ca fact that must be directly attributed to the improvement in infrastructure and the implementation of a high-performance rail line on this route of the Atlantic Axis\u201d.<\/p>\n

Ineco has worked in construction & environmental management & monitoring, project drafting, inspections & structural testing<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In April 2015 the Santiago de Compostela-Vigo section was inaugurated \u2013the third of the three sections that make up the majority of this route which represents a milestone in the modernisation of the Galician railway. The territory of this region is characterised by a great dispersion of populated areas: few big cities \u2013concentrated in costal areas\u2013, many small, isolated areas \u2013especially inland\u2013 and very rugged terrain. In addition to these characteristics we can also mention the natural geographical barriers that separate Galicia from the Meseta \u2013barriers that have historically stood in the way of constructing land transport infrastructures, both road and rail.<\/p>\n

A far-reaching project<\/h4>\n

The Axis, spanning 155 kilometres, runs along Galicia\u2019s Atlantic Coast and connects the main areas of industrial and economic activity as well as universities, areas which fuel the demand for transport. The pre-study phase is already underway for the connections A Coru\u00f1a-Ferrol (63.2 km) to the north of the Axis, in addition to Vigo-Border of Portugal (22.1 km) in the far south of Galicia. The route also connects Santiago with Ourense in the east where this section links up with the high-speed access route to Madrid which is currently under construction.<\/p>\n

Initial work on the transformation of existing infrastructure into a modern, high-performance, rapid railway corridor began in 2002. Work was carried out in phases and consisted in installing, along the entire route, a double track with multi-purpose sleepers that will later allow for the change from the Iberian gauge to the standard gauge. The line has also been electrified to 25 kV at 50 Hz, and bypasses have been constructed which have shortened the route by almost 22 kilometres. New sections of the line, owing to the land\u2019s rugged terrain, required several structures: 37 tunnels \u2013totalling a distance of more than 60 kilometres\u2013 and 32 viaducts that span a total of 14.9 kilometres. The majority of these structures are located along the section between Santiago and Vigo. This was the most complex part of the route to construct and was the last to begin operating, following both A Coru\u00f1a-Santiago in 2009 and the Santiago-Ourense connection in December 2011.<\/p>\n