Antequera-Seville AVE Spain High Speed Train, October 2016
Before the recession the Spanish government started a project to build a high speed train to link between Malaga and Seville. In 2011 they ran out of money; requiring an estimated billion more Euros to complete. Before the funds ran dry, about 77 km of land was prepared for track to be laid, including bridges, tunnels etc. You can clearly see the route on satellite images, as a scorched path running through the region. All this information is taken from here http://www.surinenglish.com/20140421/news/costasol-malaga/fast-train-nowhere-201404211142.html
After finding the track from the satellite images I found a stretch that looked interesting and accessible. Getting up next to it required a mile or so drive down a dirt road past the back of El Refugio del Burrito Donkey Sanctuary. We got out the car when the road got a bit too rough and walked the last 400m through some olive groves up to the edge of the ‘track’.
The perimeter is completely fenced off, apart from at precisely the spot that we reached; where there’s a single length of chain fence missing on both sides.
We entered and, after spending so long on the dirt road, immediately appreciated the scale and size of the track as it winded off into the distance in both directions. There are drainage channels on both sides and concrete manhole covers every couple of few meters.
We headed South towards the tunnel.
The inside of the tunnel is completely bare, with just the concrete walls and two raised platforms either side.
As we reached the end of the tunnel you can see another expensive section of the project; a bridge crossing a functioning existing railway line.
As we approached the bridge, a train on the existing line went past.
The bridge had a concrete floor and was split into three sections. I couldn’t tell if the tracks were intended to run through the centre or the outside.
To the left there’s a sign explaining how good the new train line would have been.
We could have carried on, further up the track there exists a small 'ghost' station, but 70km is a lot to explore on foot.
Before the recession the Spanish government started a project to build a high speed train to link between Malaga and Seville. In 2011 they ran out of money; requiring an estimated billion more Euros to complete. Before the funds ran dry, about 77 km of land was prepared for track to be laid, including bridges, tunnels etc. You can clearly see the route on satellite images, as a scorched path running through the region. All this information is taken from here http://www.surinenglish.com/20140421/news/costasol-malaga/fast-train-nowhere-201404211142.html
After finding the track from the satellite images I found a stretch that looked interesting and accessible. Getting up next to it required a mile or so drive down a dirt road past the back of El Refugio del Burrito Donkey Sanctuary. We got out the car when the road got a bit too rough and walked the last 400m through some olive groves up to the edge of the ‘track’.
The perimeter is completely fenced off, apart from at precisely the spot that we reached; where there’s a single length of chain fence missing on both sides.
We entered and, after spending so long on the dirt road, immediately appreciated the scale and size of the track as it winded off into the distance in both directions. There are drainage channels on both sides and concrete manhole covers every couple of few meters.
We headed South towards the tunnel.
The inside of the tunnel is completely bare, with just the concrete walls and two raised platforms either side.
As we reached the end of the tunnel you can see another expensive section of the project; a bridge crossing a functioning existing railway line.
As we approached the bridge, a train on the existing line went past.
The bridge had a concrete floor and was split into three sections. I couldn’t tell if the tracks were intended to run through the centre or the outside.
To the left there’s a sign explaining how good the new train line would have been.
We could have carried on, further up the track there exists a small 'ghost' station, but 70km is a lot to explore on foot.
