An ambitious vision to physically connect Europe and Africa via a colossal underwater railway tunnel has received a major new push, moving the multi-billion pound project closer to reality than ever before.
A Dream Decades in the Making
The concept of a fixed link beneath the Strait of Gibraltar has been a recurring feature of political discussions since the 1970s. While a joint Spanish-Moroccan committee was first formed to explore the idea in 1979, tangible progress has remained elusive—until now. The Spanish government has reignited the project, commissioning crucial new studies that conclude the engineering feat is technically achievable with today's technology.
In a significant step forward, a feasibility study completed in October by renowned German tunnelling specialists Herrenknecht has given the plan a green light. The report, commissioned for the Spanish Society for Studies on Fixed Communication across the Strait of Gibraltar (Secegsa), focused on the most challenging section: drilling beneath the geologically difficult Camarinal Threshold.
Technical Ambition on a Grand Scale
Inspired by the success of the Channel Tunnel, the proposed Gibraltar link is a project of staggering proportions. The plan involves two separate railway tunnels, each carrying trains in one direction, connecting Punta Paloma in Spain's Cadiz region with Cape Malabata near Tangier in Morocco.
The route would stretch for approximately 26 miles, with nearly 17 of those miles submerged beneath the sea. At its deepest point, the tunnel would plunge to an astonishing 1,540 feet below sea level—far deeper than the Channel Tunnel's 246-foot maximum depth. The journey time for passengers and freight on high-speed AVE trains is projected to be around 30 minutes.
The latest cost estimate for this mega-project stands at a colossal €8.5 billion (approximately £7.4 billion).
Overcoming Immense Challenges
The project is not without its formidable obstacles. The primary challenge is the tunnel's location directly on the boundary between the Eurasian and African tectonic plates, along the seismically active Azores-Gibraltar fault line. This, combined with the Strait's depth and extreme wind conditions, led to the dismissal of earlier proposals, such as a suspension bridge.
Following the positive Herrenknecht report, Spanish consultancy Ineco has been tasked with developing a full blueprint for the project by the end of 2026. If all goes to plan, government approval could be secured as early as 2027.
The project is a joint endeavour, overseen by Spain's SECEGSA and its Moroccan counterpart, SNED (National Society for Strait Studies). While initial hopes to complete the tunnel in time for the 2030 FIFA World Cup—co-hosted by Spain, Portugal, and Morocco—have been deemed unrealistic, a revised timeline is now taking shape.
Should approval be granted, fieldwork could commence in 2030, with the main construction phase slated for the period between 2035 and 2040. This would finally realise a centuries-old dream of forging a permanent, reliable rail link for passengers and freight between two continents.
