Torres Vedras, Portugal, Aug. 5, 2024 (Lusa) - Portugal's infrastructure manager, Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP), has extended the closure of the West Line between Sintra and Torres Vedras in the Lisbon district until almost the end of the year due to ongoing modernisation work.
After the section between Mira Sintra (Sintra) and Torres Vedras stations was closed for four months between April and this month, it is now expected to "fully reopen to traffic during the fourth quarter of 2024", IP told Lusa on Monday.
"After work began on the tunnel [at Sapataria, in the municipality of Sobral de Monte Agraço], situations were detected, arising from the tunnel's unpredictability of geological nature and which were not identifiable at the design stage, that required the suspension period to be extended, namely the significant increase in the volume of injections for the consolidation and stabilisation of the tunnel," the company explained.
According to IP, however, there has been a "significant reinforcement of resources on-site, working around 20 hours a day".
The closure of the line in that localised section is related to the electrification works in the Sapataria tunnel, which are considered "highly complex"—it is necessary to increase the tunnel's height to install the catenary for powering the trains.
"To ensure the best conditions for carrying out the work while mitigating the risks to the safety of workers and traffic, it is essential to cut off all train traffic on the section," explained IP.
The unpredictable situations that have occurred on the construction site have not only prolonged the closure of the section of line to rail traffic but have also had a "significant impact on the execution deadline" of the two ongoing line modernisation contracts - Meleças (Sintra)/Torres Vedras and Torres Vedras/Caldas da Rainha, After the various delays that have already occurred, completion of the work is expected to slip from the end of this year to "the beginning of 2025", according to the company.
The works are underway. Part of the railway track will be doubled, and the maximum speed of circulation will be increased to 140 kilometres per hour, reducing journey times. Several railway stations and uneven crossings will also be constructed and remodelled, and level crossings will be removed.
The contract also involves implementing a system of fixed electric traction installations to electrify the line and installing towers for mobile communications and passenger information systems.
The project to modernise the Oeste Line (Sintra/Figueira da Foz) is divided into two contracts. The first involves electrifying and modernising the section between Mira Sintra-Meleças and Torres Vedras, which will cost 61.7 million euros.
The second is the modernisation and electrification of the section between Torres Vedras and Caldas da Rainha, with a budget of €40 million.
However, the overall investment is 160 million euros, including expropriations, according to the company.
In February, IP launched a €7.5 million tender for the preliminary study and design of the extension works between Caldas da Rainha and Louriçal (Pombal) stations in the Leiria district.
According to IP, the "development phase of the engineering studies and projects is underway, followed by the environmental impact assessment and then the launch of the contract tender".
The main interventions of this third contract consist of modernising and electrifying the current track, installing electronic signalling, and removing existing level crossings. They also increase the useful length of the station lines and improve passenger service facilities and the respective accesses at stations and halts.
The Commission for the Defence of the Western Line has warned of the delay in completing the works, as well as the need to develop the tender for the modernisation and electrification of the Caldas da Rainha/Louriçal section.
FCC/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
