Mediterranean Railway Corridor

The Mediterranean Railway Corridor is part of the FERRMED great axis. It would link by international-width standard rail Spain’s main ports on the Mediterranean Sea with Central and Northern Europe, connecting it with Northern Africa. In addition, it would link most of Spain’s largest industrial areas, responsible for most of the country's exports, with France and the rest of Europe. This infrastructure would transport freight but also passengers through a High Speed Train network. It would thus benefit the Spanish but also the entire European economies.

In addition, the Mediterranean Railway Corridor would connect all of Spain’s Mediterranean coastal resorts and cities, which are one of the world’s main tourist destinations, with Central Europe and important airports and cruise ports. This infrastructural project would connect Spain's main harbours on the Mediterranean Sea and Gibraltar, such Barcelona, Tarragona, Valencia, Cartagena, Almería, Málaga and Algeciras, with Northern Europe. Freight could go non-stop from Gibraltar to Stockholm by train.

The European Commission has to release the transport infrastructure priorities for the next years on mid-October. However, it is not certain the inclusion of the Mediterranean Railway Corridor within this list, despite the objective need and economic benefits for the entire European Union. The Spanish Government has not abandoned an old project that represents an alternative to the Mediterranean Corridor: the Central Corridor, which would go from Gibraltar to Madrid and then to France passing by Zaragoza. This last option is based on a centralist framework, which has dominated Spain's infrastructural planning, especially its rail network. The Mediterranean Coast has been marginalised, as all key railway were passing through Madrid. The Mediterranean Railway Corridor might represent the exception to these centralist logics, which is based on political criteria but not on economic ones.