EIB backs €5bn Spanish rail schemes

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed an agreement to provide €5 billion ($7.4 billion) of financing to bolster Spain’s high-speed rail network.

High-speed rail

The financing will back projects which are set to be carried out between 2010 and 2015, including the Madrid-Badajoz line towards Lisbon, the Madrid-Alicante-Murcia and Valladolid-Burgos-Vitoria high-speed lines, the enlargement of Madrid’s Atocha station, a new tunnel for high-speed use connecting Madrid’s Atocha and Chamartín stations, the construction of the third and fourth tracks on the high-speed section between Torrejón de Velasco and Madrid, and the high-speed Valladolid-Galicia line.

The schemes to benefit from the loan have been selected as priority projects by the Spanish government and are set to be implemented by Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias (ADIF), Spain’s public corporation responsible for developing the country’s rail infrastructure.

All high-speed rail infrastructure built in Spain to date has been financed by the EIB, according to a statement from the bank. Previous financing agreements backing high-speed rail projects between Spain and the EIB were signed in 2002 and 2006 respectively, with a value of €10 billion each.

The EIB said in the statement that Spain has been the largest borrower from the bank, borrowing a total of €37.7 billion in the years 2004 to 2008.

In July The European Union allocated €86 million of its European Economic Recovery Plan to transportation infrastructure projects in Spain.