China 2.2.2.18 Nanjing–An’qing High-Speed Rail, People’s Republic of China Key Information Network length 250.17 km Maximum speed 350 km/hr Stations 14 Track and Power 1,435 mm; overhead catenary (50 Hz 25 kV) Technology Automatic block signalling Expected commencement of operations 2014 (pilot route) Background: The Nanjing–An’qing high speed rail line will connect Nanjing, the capital city of Jiangsu Province, with An’qing City in Anhui Province. Nanjing city, the second largest commercial centre in eastern China after Shanghai, houses a population of over 8 million. The city will host the 2014 Summer Olympics. Nanjing's economy is mainly based on electronics, cars, petrochemicals, iron, steel and power. The government is strengthening the city’s position as a national transportation hub, with the construction of Asia’s largest train station and the Yangtze River Shipping Logistics Centre, and is also building four new industrial parks. An’qing is a port city and houses a population of over five million. The city has petrochemical, textile, automobile fittings, food and tea industries. This railway line will be a branch of the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway line. The route will run parallel to the Yangtze River, and will pass through Ma'anshan, Wuhu, Tongling and Chizhou. The journey time from An’qing to Nanjing will be reduced to 90 minutes from the current travel time of 5.5 hours and from Shanghai to An’qing it will be reduced to three hours from the current travel time of 12 hours. Key players: Ning’an Intercity Railway is the project developer. The national government holds a 50 per cent share in the company and the provinces of Jiangsu and Anhui together hold the remaining 50 per cent share. The key contractors involved in the project are China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group Company Limited, China Railway 12th Bureau Group Company Limited, Ning’An Chengtie Limited Liability Company, China Anneng Construction Corporation, China Road and Bridge Corporation, Sinohydro Bureau 7 Company Limited, Beijing Urban Construction Group, and China Railway Engineering Corporation. Network: The project involves the construction of about 250.17 km of railway line covering 14 stations. Of this length, 226 km is in Anhui province. The stations include Nanjing South, Jiangning South, Ma’anshan East, Dangtu East, Wuhu, Yijiang, Fanchang West, Zhongming North, Tongling East, Maya, Chizhou, Yantang, Changfeng and An’qing. The project will require an estimated investment of CNY25.7 billion. XX Global Mass Transit Research Project Profiles – East, West & Central Asia Construction on the line began in December 2008. Track laying is expected to be completed in July 2013 and trial operations are planned in the first half of 2014. The line was originally scheduled to be completed in 2012. In December 2012, structural works were completed on the An’qing Yangtze River railway bridge, one of the main bridges along the railway line connecting An’qing, which is on the northern shore of the river, with the rest of the line south of the river. The railway bridge is a double-towered cable-stayed steel truss bridge with a total length of 2,997 metres. It is being constructed at an investment of CNY19.5 billion, and is expected to be completed by May 2013. Thereafter, Ning’an Intercity Railway plans to extend the line from An’qing to Jiujiang in Jiangxi Province. Rolling stock and technology: A total of 125 trains will be deployed. Trains will run every four minutes. The maximum speed of the trains will be 350 km/hr and the operating speed will be 200 km/hr. Tracks will be standard gauge (1,435 mm) and ballastless. Power will be sourced from overhead catenary (50 Hz 25 kV). Automatic block signalling will be deployed. Recent developments: In March 2013, the mayor of Ma’anshan city stated that the railway line will be operationalised in 2014 and that the travel time between Nanjing and Ma’anshan city will be reduced to 15 minutes from the current 78 minutes. XX www.globalmasstransit.net Spain 2.3.6.5 Madrid–Extremadura–Portuguese Border High-Speed Rail Line, Spain Key information Length 450 km (excluding the 52-km Madrid–Pantoja section) Maximum speed 350 km/hr Stations 6 (on the Spanish side); 1 (possible on the Portuguese side) Track and Power 1,435 mm; 2x25 kV 50 Hz AC Technology ERTMS Levels I and II and ASFA (ATP); GSM-R Expected commencement of operations 2016 (tentative) Notes: ERTMS – European Rail Traffic Management System; ASFA – Automatic Braking and Signal Announcement; GSM-R – Global System for Mobile Communications-Railway Background: With the completion of this high-speed railway (HSR) line, Extremadura, an autonomous community in western Spain, will be connected to the rest of the Iberian Peninsula (Iberia) and the European high-speed network. Located in southwest Europe, Iberia includes Spain, Portugal, Andorra and France, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The construction of this railway line is a priority project for Spain and the project is included in Spain’s Plan de Infraestructuras, Transporte y Vivienda (PITVI) 2012-2024. The line will be built for mixed traffic (both passenger and freight) such that capacity utilisation is optimised. Key players: Spanish infrastructure administrator, Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias (Adif), is the project developer. National rail transport operator Red Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Españoles (RENFE) will operate the trains. Network: The project involves the construction of a 450-km long railway line from Pantoja to Badajoz (close to the Portuguese border) covering six stations. The line will run through the municipalities of Garrovillas and Santiago del Campo to Extremadura on the Portuguese border, connecting the region to the Iberian Peninsula high- speed network. The six stations on the Spanish side are Talavera de la Reina, Navalmoral de la Mata, Plasencia- Fuentidueñas, Cáceres, Mérida and Badajoz. One station could be located at Elvas on the Portuguese side. The total length of the Madrid–Badajoz line is 502 km including the 52-km section between Madrid and Pantoja. XX Global Mass Transit Research Project Profiles – Europe Table ///: Section lengths Section Length (km) Madrid–Pantoja 52.0 Pantoja–Talavera de la Reina–Oropesa 140.0 Talayuela–Cáceres 127.5 Source: Adif The Madrid–Pantoja section is shared with the Madrid–Seville high-speed rail line up to the outskirts of La Sagra. From there, a new route branches out to pass through the province of Toledo, from Pantoja to Talavera de la Reina and the provincial and regional border between Toledo and Cáceres. Up to Talavera de la Reina, the line’s route is based on the current Madrid–Valencia de Alcántara line. After this, the new route will run alongside the A-5 motorway until it reaches Oropesa, where it returns to the current line’s corridor. This first section ends at the provincial border between Toledo and Cáceres. The Ministry of Public Works is responsible for the sections between Pantoja and Oropesa. The new Talavera de la Reina high-speed station is part of the urban integration of the railway, included in the railway integration protocol for the town of Talavera de la Reina, signed in October 2007 by the Ministry of Public Works, Adif, the Castile-La Mancha Government and the Town Council. The Talayuela–Cáceres section will be constructed by Adif. It extends from Talayuela to the Spanish–Portuguese border, starting at the border between the Autonomous Regions of Castile-La Mancha and Extremadura. Beginning in the Municipality of Talayuela, it passes through Navalmoral de la Mata, where a station is planned, and continues alongside the current rail corridor to the new Plasencia station, in Fuentidueñas. The Plasencia station derives its name from the fact that Plasencia is the nearest and most highly populated city that the future station will serve, while the name of Fuentidueñas comes from the spot where an old flag stop is located. From Plasencia, the line heads south towards Cáceres and Mérida, keeping mainly parallel with the A-66 ‘Plata’ motorway and the course of the current Madrid–Valencia de Alcántara railway line. Two of the most important new structures on the whole line are being built in the section before Cáceres: the viaducts crossing the Tajo and Almonte rivers, at the Alcántara reservoir. The width of the obstacles to be bridged, the impossibility of using piles in the riverbeds and the requirement to respect the environmental impact statement, have led to both having a concrete arch design, with main spans of 324 and 384 metres, respectively. The 384-metre central span of the viaduct that is being constructed without supports over the Almonte River makes it the widest span arched railway bridge in the world. The construction XX www.globalmasstransit.net Spain process chosen for erecting both bridges is similar to that used successfully for the Contreras Viaduct, on the Madrid–Levante high-speed rail line. Spain-based Idom has provided detailed design and site supervision for the bridge. This large arch makes up the main span over a 996- metre long viaduct, with a clearance of 80 metres over the river. For the Embalse de Alcántara–Garrovillas section, Spain-based Tecozam Group has designed and constructed formworks to build the 996-metre long viaduct. The execution involves 20,000 square metres of 22 variable shape piers up to 65 metres in height, including 10 piers supported by the largest span arch in Europe (384 metres). Formworks are being provided for three structures (viaducts over Santa Ana, Villaluengo and Cagancha streams), with 20 piers up to 30 metres in height. The execution involves 10,000 square metres of climbing formwork, bridge abutments and foundations.