The contract, signed on July 20, includes the supply of ventilation and firefighting systems, fire doors, emergency radio and gas detection for 12 tunnels along the 49.7km route, as well as power supplies for the systems. The new installations will also be integrated into the existing remote control Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (Scada) system.
The contract follows previous work by Alstom and Indra on similar Spanish rail projects, including the joint installation of tunnel security systems on the Antequera - Granada route, and the installation and maintenance of electromechanical installations for tunnels on the Ourense - Santiago and Madrid - Valladolid lines.
The Pajares New Line project connects the cities of La Robla, León, and Pola de Lena, Asturias, including the 25km Pajares Base Tunnel under the Cantabrian mountains, and is designed to replace the existing 83km Puerto de Pajares route, which only allows for an average speed of 60km/h.
The project is part of the €466m Madrid - Asturias high-speed line, intended to increase capacity and reduce travel times between Madrid and the northern port of Gijón for both passenger and freight services. Upon completion, the route will shorten travel distances by 33km and allow trains to travel through it at speeds of over 250km/h.
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