A feasibility study has concluded that a railway tunnel beneath the Strait of Gibraltar is technically viable, with Spain now commissioning blueprints for the ambitious project
A colossal underwater tunnel linking Europe and Africa could finally be on the cards after the project received a major boost.
The ambitious project, which would see the tunnel burrow beneath the Strait of Gibraltar, has been reignited by Spain after being mooted by various governments for decades. Now scientists have declared that such an engineering feat is possible.
In October, a study commissioned by the Spanish Government and carried out by German tunnel experts Herrenknecht concluded that drilling a railway tunnel below the Strait would be technically achievable with current technology. Since then, Spanish consultancy firm Ineco has been tasked with drawing up a blueprint for the project by the end of next year, with hopes that Government approval could be granted as early as 2027.
The concept of creating a man-made link between Europe and Africa first surfaced in the 1970s, popping up intermittently in election campaigns and Government agendas since then, but no tangible steps have been taken until now. Previous proposals included the establishment of a joint Spain-Morocco committee in 1979 to assess the feasibility of the plan.
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The proposed tunnel, to be drilled beneath the nine-mile stretch of water separating southern Spain from Morocco, would take inspiration from the Eurotunnel, which opened in 1994 and links Britain to northern France under the English Channel.
The Herrenknecht report, formally commissioned by the Spanish Society for Studies on Fixed Communication across the Strait of Gibraltar (Secegsa), under the Ministry of Transport, has assessed the feasibility of constructing the railway tunnel in its most complex sections, especially under the Camarinal Threshold – an area with extremely difficult geological conditions.
The most recent cost estimate for the project is €8.5 billion (£7.4 billion), according to Voz Populi.
The project, featuring two separate railway tunnels each carrying trains in one direction, is set to connect Punta Paloma in Cadiz with Morocco’s Cape Malabata, near Tangier. The tunnel would span roughly 26 miles, with nearly 17 miles of the route submerged underwater, reports the Express.
It’s also projected to reach a depth of 1,540 feet – significantly deeper than the Channel Tunnel, which only dips to 246 feet below sea level. Upon completion, the journey is estimated to take about 30 minutes by train, with the capacity to carry both passengers on high-speed AVE trains and freight.
The project faces significant technical challenges, particularly due to its location at the boundary between the Eurasian and African tectonic plates along the Azores-Gibraltar fault line, Morocco World News reports.
If given the green light, fieldwork is anticipated to commence in 2030, with the main construction phase scheduled for between 2035 and 2040. However, these dates could be subject to change.
While initial plans aimed to complete the tunnel by 2030, coinciding with the FIFA World Cup co-hosted by Spain, Portugal, and Morocco, experts have since stated that this timeline is unrealistic, given the project’s complexity and its current preliminary stage of studies.
The current proposed route, from Punta Paloma to Cape Malabata, comes after decades of discarded proposals, including an early concept for a suspension bridge. This type of connection was eventually ruled out due to the Strait’s depth, seismic activity and extreme wind conditions.
The project is being jointly managed by SECEGSA and its Moroccan counterpart, SNED (National Society for Strait Studies). Both organizations are working to establish a reliable rail connection for passengers and freight between Europe and North Africa.