Spain tenders €25.1m gauge-change facility at Vila-seca

The Council of Ministers approved on 16 December 2025 the tender for a new gauge-change facility at Vila-seca (Province of Tarragona) with an estimated value of €25.13 million excl. VAT. There, Rodalies line R16 trains from Tortosa are to switch from standard to Iberian gauge so that the service between Les Terres de l'Ebre and Barcelona survives the build-out of the Mediterranean Corridor; the plans include 220 m of usable length on each side of the facility, a new platform, mixed-gauge turnouts and a 3 kV overhead line. The investment serves the goal of linking Barcelona and Valencia by high-speed line by 2027 and may be co-financed through the EU's CEF facility. Announced on 16 December 2025; the date is a placeholder: the article gives no completion date for the facility, only 2027 as the target for the Barcelona–Valencia high-speed link (LOK Report, 17 Dec 2025).