By rosebell
A €296,400 contract to conduct a drilling feasibility study for the proposed Morocco-to-Spain undersea rail link has been granted to Spanish firm Herrenknecht Iberica.
This study that is due to commence immediately is scheduled to conclude by June, according to reports from local media.
The date of reviving this project by Spanish government was June 2022, allocating almost $2.5m for a fresh design study.
Being commissioned in 2003, this project was delayed due to the 2008 financial crisis and has since remained in the feasibility stage due to funding challenges spanning nearly two decades.
The proposed rail link will include plans for a double-rail track and a service line stretching 38.5km between Tarifa in Spain and Tangier in Morocco.
Around 28km of the route is going to pass beneath the Mediterranean Sea, reaching a maximum depth of 475m and the tunnels will be constructed at a maximum depth of 300m, with single-track tunnels featuring an inner diameter of 7.9m and a service gallery with a 6m diameter.
The responsibility of dveloping this project jointly up to Morocco’s National Society for Strait of Gibraltar Studies and Spain’s Sociedad Española de Estudios para la Comunicación Fija a Través del Estrecho de Gibraltar.
In 2006, Swiss company Lombardi Engineering was chosen to design the tunnel, completing preliminary studies by 2008.
