The Spanish Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility has put out to tender an informative study for 635,000 euros to establish a new railway connection between Jaén and the high-speed line (LAV) Madrid-Seville in Córdoba.
This action, which will require an estimated investment of €400 million, will reduce the journey time between Madrid and Jaén by more than 50 minutes, with a total estimated time of just 3 hours.
The project envisions the creation of a bypass that will eliminate the current transfer at Córdoba, utilising part of the Córdoba-Jaén corridor and including a new gauge changer. This work will mainly benefit passengers from Jaén.
Until now, the main proposal to link Jaén with Madrid by high-speed train was the construction of a new line from the Madrid-Seville high-speed line in Mora (Toledo) to Alcázar de San Juan.
According to several studies, the journey time between Madrid and Jaén ranges from 2 hours and 30 minutes to 2 hours and 45 minutes. The projected cost of this alternative in 2006 was 288 million euros (which would be 420 million euros in 2025 if adjusted for inflation) and would also benefit Alcazar de San Juan and towns of high tourist interest such as Baeza and Ubeda.