A Morocco – Spain rail link in time for the football World Cup 2030?
Map of the Gibraltar Strait Shutterstock
The idea of building a crossing to connect the European and African continents dates back to the 1930s. The decision of FIFA to hold the 2030 World Cup in Morocco, Spain, and Portugal may breathe new life into this project. Could a tunnel containing a high-speed rail link be built in time for football fans to use?
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Fascinating project but having it all up and running for the 2030 World Cup seems like a big ask.
I am curious about what it would connect to at either end. Morroco has high-speed standard gauge from Tangier ( for a connection to the tunnel portal ?) to Casablanca, but what about in Spain? Would the tunnel be mixed gauge or standard?
Do the people wielding the power have a clue what rail is about? This project is an attempt to harness nostalgia to win votes and little to do with creating a usable system. Any new link has to connect up at the Sheffield end and link to other services. I need to get from Manchester to Chesterfield every week. The roads are a complete pain but not as bad as the rail option. Get us a working system and stop fantasising. Fantasy is all you have offered for decades on every front. Do it or go.
Is this project economically viable ?
“intending to initiate construction around 2030” = operations will not start before 2038.
“with a maximum gradient of 3 per cent”: Given that freight could become a larger driver of economies, this may not be the best choice.