FCC Construcción has been present at the commissioning of the Pajares Bypass, the High Speed connection with Asturias. Specifically, the new La Robla-Pola de Lena line has been put into operation, with a length of 50 kilometers. This line is made up of a succession of 12 tunnels and 10 viaducts with which it crosses the Cantabrian Mountains and the important difference in level between Asturias and the Meseta (500 meters), with maximum respect and integration into the environment.

80% of its route runs through a tunnel, more than 40 kilometers, including the Pajares tunnel, which has become one of the most complex engineering works in Europe and the world. This tunnel, 25 km long, is the seventh longest railway tunnel in Europe and is equipped with the most advanced protection and safety equipment.

The infrastructure is an electrified double track, with the most advanced railway signaling system (ERTMS level 2), prepared to reach a maximum circulation speed of 275 km/h.

Its new route cuts the length of the current section through the Puerto de Pajares - which dates back to the 19th century - by 37 km and has a lower altitude and slope, facilitating winter maintenance work on the line.

The new line will also be one of the most versatile in Spain, since it will be used by passenger trains, running in Iberian gauge and, in the future, in standard gauge, and freight trains.

The Pajares Bypass represents an unprecedented milestone in railway connections: travelers will see their train travel time between Asturias and Madrid reduced by more than an hour. And freight trains, for their part, will be able to transport up to 15% more cargo and be longer (three or four more cars).

The high-speed connection with Asturias is one of the most complex engineering works in Europe and the world, which crosses mountains and the great geological complexity of the Cantabrian Mountains, with very diverse formations, which represented a great challenge in the excavation process. . Its construction has been an unprecedented challenge

The Pajares Bypass will accommodate the circulation of passenger trains in Iberian gauge and, in the future, in standard gauge, as well as freight. The Asturias connection gives new impetus to the development of the high-speed rail network in Spain, which exceeds 4,000 km and is consolidated as the largest in Europe and the second largest in the world.

FCC Construcción has been present in the construction of the Pajares bypass since its beginnings in 2004, participating in the execution of the main sections that comprise it, lots 1 and 5, the waterproofing and drainage works of the tunnels and finally the assembly of the road in practically its entirety.

With this action, FCC Construcción and Convensa once again position themselves as the top references in Spain and one of the main ones worldwide, in slab track execution. Both companies have executed, among other projects: the Guadarrama tunnels, the access sections to Galicia between Pedralba and Orense and the aforementioned Pajares Bypass.

Some information of interest:

• 50 km long
• 80% of the route runs through tunnels: a total of 12 totaling 40 km
• The Pajares Tunnel (25 km) is the seventh longest railway tunnel in Europe and runs 1 km deep under the Cantabrian Mountains (equivalent to the four towers of Madrid placed one above the work)
• 10 viaducts (1.8 km): four doubles (one viaduct for each track) and one triple (Campomanes, unique in the Spanish railway network)
• 5 tunnel boring machines of 2,000 tons each and a length equivalent to the Eiffel Tower worked on the construction of the Pajares Tunnel simultaneously
• Between 10 and 15 minutes it will take a train to travel through the Pajares tunnel.
• Three heliports
• A treatment plant with a capacity of up to 500 liters/sec.
• Interior lining to channel the infiltration flow, through an innovative solution formed by acrylic resin plates reinforced with continuous fiber
• 2,600 km of cables (equivalent to the distance between Madrid and Berlin) to power and connect the facilities and systems
• 58 emergency exits in the Pajares Tunnel, approximately every 400 meters, through galleries that connect the tunnels to each other and two galleries that communicate with the outside.
• 214 fans for smoke control, with double backup electrical connection