SOMAFEL and TEIXEIRA DUARTE execute the biggest new railway line work in the last 100 years in Portugal

The consortium led by SOMAFEL – Engenharia e Obras Ferroviárias, S.A. and in which Teixeira Duarte – Engenharia e Construções, S.A. also participates, was awarded the contract for the Railway Track and Catenary between Évora and Elvas/Fronteira and the construction of the subsection between Évora and Évora Norte. The work assignment was signed on 14 July at the headquarters of Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP) for an amount of 87 million euros and provides for an execution period of 935 days.

The contract work includes the construction of the track and catenary superstructures between Évora and Elvas/Fronteira, and civil construction – general works – of the Évora – Évora Norte subsection, in the new Évora Line. Considered the largest new railway line work in the last 100 years in Portugal, the Évora – Évora Norte subsection is part of the new Évora Line, which is about 100 kilometres long, of which 90 kilometres are completely new, between this city and the Linha do Leste, on the connection with Spain. The work is part of the Portuguese Southern International Corridor, within the scope of the Ferrovia2020 Programme.

The main works in the project are:

• Construction of a new railway channel;
• Construction of fixed electrical traction installations necessary for electrification;
• Construction of the Xarrama, Degebe and Vale Figueira railway bridges;
• Railway track, allowing for speeds of 250 km/h;
• Catenary systems, allowing for speeds of 300 km/h;
• Installation of the infrastructure for electronic signaling and telecommunications;
• Installation of the traction return system;

The new railway channel under construction between Évora and the East Line, connecting to the Spanish border, was created as part of an evolutionary development of the railway connections to Spain, in the framework of the Trans-European Transport Network ( RTE-T) and of the railway connection of cargo between the Portuguese ports and the rest of Europe, ensuring from the very beginning a passenger connection.