The Spanish Minister of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda Raquel Sánchez Jiménez has announced that the final Pedralba de la Pradería – Ourense rail section on the Madrid-Galicia high speed line has been completed and the passenger services will start on December 21.

On November 22, a test trip was organised on the railway line between Madrid and Ourense.

EUR 2.96 billion was invested for the construction of the new rail section which is the continuation of the Zamora – Pedralba de la Pradería line inaugurated last year.

The final section will allow Avril trains to run at a commercial speed of 300 km/h along the Madrid-Galicia high speed line for which a EUR 9 billion investment was provided by the state in the last 16 years.

In January 2020, the European Commission has approved in EUR 226 million funding from the ERDF for the construction of 48.5 km-long Lubián – Taboadela rail section part ofnthe high-speed railway from Madrid to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia. It is expected that the new section will enter services in January 2022. In October 2020, Spain has put into commercial operation the 110 km section linking Zamora and Pedralba de la Pradería on the Madrid-Galicia high speed line.