Rail link between Europe and Africa mooted
23rd August 2007
With travelling to Europe set to become even easier with the launch of the new Eurostar services from St Pancras in London, rail travellers might be interested to learn that getting to Africa by rail could become a reality too.
If plans go ahead, a link between Gibraltar and Morocco could be operational by 2025, providing rail infrastructure between the two continents for the first time, Spanish newspaper the Resident reports.
Spanish foreign minister Miguel Angel Moratinos intends to present the proposals at a summit between the EU and Africa towards the end of the year. The link would take the form of a tunnel beneath the Strait of Gibraltar, much in the same way as the Channel Tunnel connects the UK to the rest of Europe.
Under the plans, two rail tunnels and one service tunnel would be built between Punta Palomas, near Gibraltar, and Punta Malabata, near Tangier, at an estimated project cost of €5 billion (£3.4 billion). Swiss tunnel firm Lombardi Engineering has been awarded the contract to bore the 39-kilometre link.
Experimental work on the project has already begun, with Spanish and Moroccan teams having drilled into the rock to test its suitability.
Travellers currently looking to head to Gibraltar can get there by taking the Eurostar to Paris before inter-railing to Madrid and Algeciras.
© Adfero Ltd
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