Page 451 - 360.revista de Alta Velocidad - Nº 6

Evolution of the role of the Consultant Engineer in High-speed Railway Projects along the last
25 years, in Spain

speed line for a design speed of 350 km/h, including the design of 15 viaducts and 18
tunnels, with an accumulative length of 9.74 km and 13.25 km respectively, representing
a 49 % of the total length. Among the viaducts, it is worth to highlight the Viaduct over
the Saramo River with 1,484 m in length and the Viaduct of O Eixo with 1,224 m in length,
as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. O Eixo Viaduct in the High-speed line Madrid – Galicia

This technical excellence has been reflected later in other projects with unique structures such
as the one developed in the High-speed line between Madrid, Extremadura and the Portuguese
border, in the section between Alcántara and Garrovillas, where it was developed the design
project of the Viaduct of Almonte to cross over the river Almonte in the vicinity of the Alcántara
nature reserve. Figure 3 shows this viaduct, which constituted a world record of bridge arch
typology, with a total length of 996 m, with the central arch having a span of 384 m.

Figure 3. Almonte Viaduct in the High-speed line Madrid – Extremadura – Portuguese Border.
(photo property of UTE AVE Alcántara-Garrovillas)

International Congress on High-speed Rail: Technologies and Long Term Impacts - Ciudad Real (Spain) - 25th anniversary Madrid-Sevilla corridor 449