Strait of Gibraltar Tunnel

Strait of Gibraltar tunnel
The Strait of Gibraltar
Overview
LocationStrait of Gibraltar
Operation
Work begun2030 (proposed)
TrafficFreight trains and passenger trains
CharacterTwin tube
Passenger and freight
Third service tunnel
Technical
Length65 km (40 mi)
Track gaugeStandard (1435 mm) or Iberian (1668 mm)
ElectrifiedElectrified 25 kV AC
Depth of tunnel below water level475 metres (1,558 ft)

The Strait of Gibraltar tunnel (Spanish: Túnel del estrecho de Gibraltar, Arabic: نفق جبل طارق) is a proposed rail tunnel spanning the Strait of Gibraltar that would connect Europe and Africa. If built, the tunnel would possibly be the longest railway tunnel in the world, surpassing the Gotthard Base Tunnel and the under-construction Mont d'Ambin Base Tunnel, as well as the longest undersea tunnel, surpassing the Seikan Tunnel.

Since the completion of Morocco's first national high-speed rail line from Casablanca to Tangiers in 2018, there has been renewed interest in a tunnel that would connect the line to Spain's own high-speed network, which uses the same gauge and electrification as the northern section of Morocco's Casablanca-Tangier high-speed line.[1]

Background

The Strait is up to 900 metres (3,000 ft) deep on the shortest route, but only about 300 metres deep slightly further west, in a region known as the Camarinal Sill; the European and African tectonic plates meet around this area. The shortest crossing is 14 kilometres (8.7 mi). The proposed route of 23 kilometres (14 mi) is west of Tarifa and to the east of Tangier. Current proposals suggest that the tunnel length would be about 65 kilometres (40 miles) in all, with around 40 kilometres (25 miles) of this length in Spanish territory. The terminals would likely be located at Vejer de la Frontera on the Spanish side and Cape Malabata on the Moroccan side.[2][3][4] It is proposed that a connection could be made to the Spanish high speed railway network, which has a line projected to be built from Cádiz to Málaga via Algeciras. Alternatively, a connection could likely be made to the Iberian-gauge Cadiz-Seville railway.[2][4]

Car ferries have long operated across the Strait of Gibraltar. As of 2023 they operate on these routes:[5]

The ferry traffic has an established base of customers, useful to calculate the number of users for a fixed link.

Conversely, the idea has also generated significant criticism over fears such as potential environmental and climate impacts as well as possible conflicts of sovereignty. There have also been fears such a project could aid in illegal migration, particularly as Spain grappled with record numbers of illegal crossings in 2024.[6][7][8]

History

The concept of a fixed link crossing the strait has a long history. The political origins of the project arise from the Common Hispanic-Moroccan Declaration of Fez, of 16 June 1979, and signed by the kings of Spain and Morocco.[9] The governments of Spain and Morocco appointed a joint committee[10] to investigate the feasibility of linking the two continents, which resulted in the much broader Euromed Transport project.[11] One consequence of the declaration was the creation in 1981 (1981) of SECEGSA, the Spanish government-funded corporation tasked with studying and promoting the crossing.[12]

Bridge proposals

Several engineers have designed bridges on various alignments and with differing structural configurations. A proposal by Professor T.Y. Lin for a crossing between Point Oliveros and Point Cires featured deep piers, a length of 14 kilometres (9 miles), 910-metre-tall (3,000 ft) towers, and a 5,000-metre (16,000-foot) span, more than twice the length of the current longest bridge span.[13] According to OPAC this bridge would have cost around US$15 Billion.[13] A 2004 proposal by architect Eugene Tsui was for a floating and submerged bridge connected at a three-mile-wide (4.8 km) floating island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea.[14]

Tunnel proposals

Various tunnels have been proposed. Spain first proposed a modern tunnel under the Strait of Gibraltar in 1930, but a major problem arose when the engineers hired by the Spanish government discovered that the material under the Strait was extremely hard rock, making tunnelling impossible with the available technology.[15] One engineering solution was to fix, using cables, a prefabricated concrete tunnel to the floor of the Strait. This tunnel would have handled both automotive and train traffic.[16]

A 2008 geological study cast doubt on the tunnel's feasibility. In March 2009, a contract was issued for a joint system linking the Moroccan Société Nationale d'Etudes du Détroit de Gibraltar (SNED) with its Spanish counterpart, Sociedad española de estudios para la comunicación fija a través del Estrecho de Gibraltar SA (SECEGSA). A three-year study for a railway tunnel was announced in 2003. SNED and SECEGSA commissioned several seabed surveys.

A report[17][18][19] on the feasibility of the tunnel was presented to the EU in 2009. A further project study is under development by a group of specialist consultants from SYSTRA, Amberg and COWI.

Planning

In December 2003, Spain and Morocco agreed[20][21] to explore the construction of an underwater rail tunnel to connect their rail systems. The tunnel would have linked Cape Malabata near Tangier with Punta Paloma in the El Estrecho Natural Park 40 kilometres (25 mi) west of Gibraltar.[22] No official figures about the cost of the project had been announced by 2007, but previous estimates exceeded €5 billion.[23]

In January 2021, it was reported that the United Kingdom and Morocco would discuss building the crossing between Gibraltar and Tangiers.[24]

In February 2023, after a high-level bilateral meeting between Spain and Morocco, the Moroccan and Spanish governments resolved to relaunch the project for an undersea railway tunnel under the Strait of Gibraltar. The project is planned to start construction in 2030.[25] In June 2023, the Spanish government announced a €2.3 million funding package for a joint Spanish-Moroccan design and planning committee for the tunnel. The tunnel would connect the southern end of Spain's national high-speed train network with the northern end of the recently constructed Al Boraq high-speed line from Casablanca to Tangier—the first high-speed rail line in Africa.[1]

In December 2025, German tunneling company Herrenknecht released a study confirming the technical feasibility of the project from an engineering perspective, estimating the cost of construction to be around €8.5 billion and that initial construction could begin in 2030, with major milestones completed sometime between 2035 and 2040.[3] Engineering consultancy company INECO was awarded a contract to update the technical design and plan for initial geological explorations, with a decision on whether to proceed with the construction of an initial exploratory tunnel expected to be made as soon as 2027.[26][27] However, this design contract was challenged in court by the Spanish Association of Business and Engineering Consultancies, which claimed that the direct awarding of the contract to INECO was anticompetitive and called for its re-awarding using an open tender process.[28]

Project

The proposed rail tunnel's length is 65 kilometres (40 mi), 475 metres (1,558 ft) deep,[18][3] and its construction would take 10 years. An earlier plan was to link the two continents via the narrowest part of the strait, about 14 kilometres (8.7 mi), but this idea was dismissed as the tunnel would be 900 metres (3,000 ft) below sea level. Instead, the tunnel will pass through the Camarinal Sill, which has a comparatively shallower depth of 280 metres (920 ft). For comparison, the currently deepest undersea tunnel, the Norwegian Ryfylke Tunnel, is 291 metres (955 ft) below sea level. A tunnel deeper than Ryfylke is under construction, also in Norway; Rogfast will be 27 kilometres (17 mi) long and 392 metres (1,286 ft) deep and is expected to be completed in 2033, costing €2.5 billion.[29]

In late 2006, Lombardi Engineering Ltd, a Swiss engineering and design company, was retained to draft a design for a railway tunnel.[30] According to the company, the main differences between the construction of this tunnel and that of the Channel Tunnel, linking France and Great Britain, are the depth of the sea and the geological conditions. The area under the Strait is less stable than that under the English Channel. An active major geologic fault, the Azores–Gibraltar Transform Fault, bisects the Strait, and severe earthquakes have occurred in the area. The presence of two deep Quaternary clay channels in the middle of the Strait makes construction complex,[17] causing doubts about the feasibility of the project and proposals for an exploratory tunnel.[31]

The starting point on the Spanish side is planned to be near the town of Vejer, with a double-tracked connection to the Cadiz-Seville rail line and a single-tracked branch towards Algeciras.[4]

The construction of terminals, similar to the Eurotunnel Folkestone Terminal and Eurotunnel Calais Terminal at either end of the Channel Tunnel, might be required for transshipment of road vehicles.

Looking South from Mirador del Estrecho viewpoint in Spain overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. Pictured to the left is Ceuta, a Spanish exclave, and to the right (out of the picture) is Tangier.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "High-speed rail tunnel to link Europe to Africa gets EU funding". The Independent. 16 June 2023. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Un estudio del Gobierno concluye que el túnel con Marruecos es viable: precisa una década y 8.500 M". Vozpópuli (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 30 December 2025. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
  3. ^ a b c Máiquez, Rafa (14 December 2025). "El túnel del estrecho de Gibraltar, una inversión española de 8.500 millones de euros y hasta nueve años de obras". Europa Sur (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 December 2025.
  4. ^ a b c Vera, Pilar (17 January 2026). "El proyecto del túnel del Estrecho hace de Vejer un punto clave del corredor euromediterráneo". Diario de Cádiz (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 January 2026.
  5. ^ "Ferries from Spain to Morocco 2023". Archived from the original on 9 March 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  6. ^ Jempson, Rosie (27 October 2024). "The 'real reason' there is no bridge between Europe and Africa - only 17 miles apart". Vol. Daily Express. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  7. ^ Ehsan, Zaighum. "Why Are There No Bridges Between Europe and Africa?". Medium. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  8. ^ Hadden, Gerry. "Migrants from Africa reaching Spain in record numbers y 17 miles apart". The World. Archived from the original on 22 July 2025. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  9. ^ "Marco Institucional" [Institutional Framework]. SECEGSA (in Spanish). Government of Spain – SECEGSA. Retrieved 31 May 2018. El Proyecto de Enlace Fijo a través del Estrecho de Gibraltar tiene sus orígenes en la Declaración Común Hispano-Marroquí, fechada en Fez el 16 de junio de 1979, mediante la cual, los reyes Hassan II de Marruecos y Juan Carlos I de España, conscientes de la importancia que en el futuro tendrían las relaciones entre los dos países y entre Europa y África, pusieron de manifiesto su deseo de trabajar conjuntamente en el desarrollo de dicho Proyecto. [The Fixed Link Project through the Strait of Gibraltar has its origins in the Spanish-Moroccan Common Declaration, dated in Fez on June 16, 1979, through which King Hassan II of Morocco and King Juan Carlos I of Spain, aware of the importance that relations between the two countries and between Europe and Africa would have in the future, expressed their desire to work together in the development of said Project.]
  10. ^ "Portail national du Maroc". Archived from the original on 4 April 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  11. ^ Euromed Transport project 2003 – 2009 Archived 16 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ "Estatutos de la Sociedad Anónuma Denominada: Soviedad Española de Estudios para la Comunicación fiha a través del Estrecho de Gibraltar, S.A. (SECEGSA)" [Statutes of the Public Limited Company Named: Sociedad Española de Estudios para la Comunicación fiha a través del Estrecho de Gibraltar, S.A. (SECEGSA)] (PDF). SECEGSA (in Spanish). Government of Spain – SECEGSA. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 October 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2018. La duración de la Sociedad será por tiempo indefinido, habiendo dado comienzo sus operaciones el día 26 de febrero de 1981, fecha del otorgamiento de la escritura de constitución. [The duration of the Company will be for an indefinite period, having started its operations on February 26, 1981, the date of the execution of the deed of incorporation.]
  13. ^ a b "Gibraltar Bridge – Feasibility Study". OPAC Consulting Engineers. 2003. Archived from the original on 18 November 2025. Retrieved 5 March 2009.
  14. ^ "Strait of Gibraltar Floating Bridge". Tsui Design & Research, Inc. 2004. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2009.
  15. ^ "Tunnel from Spain to Africa". Popular Mechanics. March 1930. p. 366. Retrieved 28 January 2023 – via books.google.com. article bottom-left
  16. ^ "Strangest Tunnel to Join Europe and Africa". Popular Mechanics. August 1930. Retrieved 28 January 2023 – via books.google.com.
  17. ^ a b "Project of the fixed link through the strait of Gibraltar" (PDF). SECEG SA. November 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 February 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2009.
  18. ^ a b Wood, Danny (19 July 2008). "Spain-Africa link decision 'near'". BBC News. Archived from the original on 20 July 2008. Retrieved 20 July 2008.
  19. ^ "El proyecto del túnel del Estrecho llegará en 2009 a manos de la UE en busca de apoyos" [The Strait tunnel project will reach the hands of the EU in 2009 in search of support]. 20 minuto.es (in Spanish). 16 November 2008. Archived from the original on 9 February 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2009.
  20. ^ "Europe-Africa rail tunnel agreed". BBC News. 14 December 2003. Archived from the original on 27 February 2007. Retrieved 3 February 2009.
  21. ^ "Africa and Europe set for tunnel link". BBC News. 13 March 2007. Archived from the original on 27 January 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2009.
  22. ^ "Spain and Morocco agree to rail tunnel under Gibraltar strait". wsws.org. 5 January 2004. Retrieved 10 January 2007.
  23. ^ Tremlett, Giles (20 October 2006). "By train from Europe to Africa – undersea tunnel project takes a leap forward". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 10 January 2007.
  24. ^ "UK and Morocco may discuss a tunnel linking Gibraltar and Tangiers". 11 January 2021. Archived from the original on 12 January 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  25. ^ Aamari, Oussama. "Morocco, Spain Relaunch Gibraltar Strait Tunnel Project". www.moroccoworldnews.com/. Morocco World News. Archived from the original on 14 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  26. ^ Esser, Lucas Proto;Emma (15 December 2025). "Esta vez va en serio: por qué el proyecto del túnel España-Marruecos ha resucitado". elconfidencial.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 16 December 2025. Retrieved 19 December 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  27. ^ Ghirlanda, Alessio (16 December 2025). "A tunnel between continents under the Strait of Gibraltar IS possible: Route, depth, cost and timeline - this is how it will work". Olive Press News Spain. Archived from the original on 18 December 2025. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  28. ^ MASAITI, Amira EL (11 January 2026). "Spain's Gibraltar tunnel plans hit court as engineers contest no-bid contract". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
  29. ^ Prisco, Jacopo (2 December 2025). "Norway is building the world's longest, deepest undersea road tunnel". CNN. Archived from the original on 31 December 2025. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
  30. ^ "Swiss plan tunnel under Strait of Gibraltar". swissinfo.org. Archived from the original on 25 January 2009. Retrieved 10 January 2007.
  31. ^ "Doubts cast over tunnel plan". Middle East Online. 29 September 2008. Archived from the original on 20 January 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2015.

"Website of the project of the fixed link through the Strait of Gibraltar". Archived from the original on 16 May 2007. Retrieved 3 February 2009.

35°57′55″N 5°34′24″W / 35.96528°N 5.57333°W / 35.96528; -5.57333

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