TRAM d’Alacant re-opens direct rail connection between Benidorm and Dénia
Work on the new viaducts and improvements in infrastructure means that the new dual units can circulate along the whole route from this week.
TRAM d’Alacant has confirmed that the completion of works on the new Algar and Masacrat viaducts which carry the rail line between Altea and Calpe has meant that the section can be re-opened after some ten months of alternative bus service. In addition to the renovation and modernization of Line 9, which links Benidorm and Dénia, the completion of the new viaducts also means that the new dual tram units will be able to put into service after some ten years of work by the Generalitat Valenciana.
The project replaced the existing viaduct that carried the line over the River Algar, one which was built between 1913 and 1915 and will be retained as a pedestrian walkway due to its categorisation as an Asset of Local Relevance (BRL). The new crossing consists of a concrete slab 226 metres in length and six metres in width.
The new Mascarat crossing is a metal structure weighing some 114 metric tonnes which crosses the ravine in a single span of just over 43 metres. It has the same characteristics at the original crossing, PRATT type metal structure. The work has also allowed the replacement of around 1.5 kilometres of track ballast as well as more than 12,000 square metres of reinforced triple mesh to be installed along the three tunnels that the route passes in this area.
The opening of the two new crossings means the modern dual units which have been running between Dénia and Calpe since 2023 can now circulate along the whole route down to Benidorm.
SOURCE: GVA – Medio Ambiente, Infraestructuras y Territorio
