Editing Iberian Peninsula (section)

== Transportation ==
Both Spain and Portugal have traditionally used a non-standard rail gauge (the 1,668&nbsp;mm [[Iberian gauge]]) since the construction of the first railroads in the 19th century. Spain has progressively introduced the 1,435&nbsp;mm [[Standard-gauge railway|standard gauge]] in its new high-speed rail network (one of the most extensive in the world),{{Sfn|Zembri|Libourel|2017|p=368}} inaugurated in 1992 with the [[Madrid–Seville high-speed rail line|Madrid–Seville line]], followed to name a few by the [[Madrid–Barcelona high-speed rail line|Madrid–Barcelona]] (2008), [[Madrid–Levante high-speed rail network|Madrid–Valencia]] (2010), an Alicante branch of the latter (2013) and the connection to France of the Barcelona line.{{Sfn|Zembri|Libourel|2017|p=371}} Portugal however suspended all the high-speed rail projects in the wake of the [[2008 financial crisis]], putting an end for the time being to the possibility of a high-speed rail connection between Lisbon, Porto and Madrid.{{Sfn|Zembri|Libourel|2017|p=382}}

Handicapped by a mountainous range (the [[Pyrenees]]) hindering the connection to the rest of Europe, Spain (and subsidiarily Portugal) only has two meaningful rail connections to France able for freight transport, located at both ends of the mountain range.{{sfn|Fernández de Alarcón|2015|p=45}} An international rail line across the Central Pyrenees linking [[Zaragoza]] and the French city of [[Pau (France)|Pau]] through a tunnel existed in the past; however, an accident in the French part destroyed a stretch of the railroad in 1970 and the [[Canfranc International railway station|Canfranc Station]] has been a [[Dead end (street)|cul-de-sac]] since then.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://elpais.com/diario/1983/01/10/economia/411001210_850215.html|journal=[[El País]]|date=10 January 1983|title=El Canfranc: un ferrocarril en vía muerta|first=Eduardo|last=Barrenechea}}</ref>

There are four points connecting the Portuguese and Spanish rail networks: [[Valença railway station|Valença do Minho]]–[[Tuy railway station|Tui]], [[Vilar Formoso railway station|Vilar Formoso]]–[[Fuentes de Oñoro railway station|Fuentes de Oñoro]], [[Marvão-Beirã railway station|Marvão-Beirã]]–[[Valencia de Alcántara railway station|Valencia de Alcántara]] and [[Elvas railway station|Elvas]]–[[Badajoz railway station|Badajoz]].{{Sfn|Palmeiro Piñeiro|Pazos Otón|2008|p=227}}

The prospect of the development (as part of a European-wide effort) of the Central, Mediterranean and Atlantic rail corridors is expected to be a way to improve the competitiveness of the ports of [[Port of Tarragona|Tarragona]], [[Port of Valencia|Valencia]], [[Port of Sagunto|Sagunto]], [[port of Bilbao|Bilbao]], [[Port of Santander|Santander]], [[Port of Sines|Sines]] and [[Port of Algeciras|Algeciras]] vis-à-vis the rest of Europe and the World.{{Sfn|Fernández de Alarcón|2015|p=50}}

In 1980, Morocco and Spain started a joint study on the feasibility of a fixed link (tunnel or bridge) across the [[Strait of Gibraltar]], possibly through a connection of {{ill|Punta Paloma|es}} with [[Cape Malabata]].{{Sfn|García Álvarez|1996|p=7; 11}} Years of studies have, however, made no real progress thus far.<ref>{{citation |last=Leadbeater |first=Chris |contribution-url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/spain/articles/rail-tunnel-spain-morocco-strait-gibraltar-tarifa-tangier-casablanca/ |contribution=Will a Tunnel from Spain to Africa Ever Be Built—And Who Would Use It? |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001219165200/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 December 2000 |title=The Telegraph |date=31 May 2018 }}.</ref>

A transit point for many submarine cables, the [[Fibre-optic Link Around the Globe]], [[Europe India Gateway]], and the [[SEA-ME-WE 3]] feature landing stations in the Iberian Peninsula.<ref name=cix /> The [[West Africa Cable System]], [[Main One]], [[SAT-3/WASC]], [[Africa Coast to Europe (cable system)|Africa Coast to Europe]] also land in Portugal.<ref name=cix>{{Cite web|url=https://www.de-cix.net/_Resources/Persistent/ae619c013d07fc207d4efe67f7a66bc662c78b8b/Whitepaper_Madrids%20position%20in%20the%20gloabl%20telecommunications%20landscape.pdf|title=Madrid΄s Position in the Global Telecommunications Landscape|page=2|publisher=[[DE-CIX]]|access-date=16 June 2020|archive-date=16 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616201113/https://www.de-cix.net/_Resources/Persistent/ae619c013d07fc207d4efe67f7a66bc662c78b8b/Whitepaper_Madrids%20position%20in%20the%20gloabl%20telecommunications%20landscape.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[MAREA]], a high capacity communication transatlantic cable, connects the north of the Iberian Peninsula (Bilbao) to North America (Virginia), whereas [[Grace Hopper (submarine communications cable)|Grace Hopper]] is an upcoming cable connecting the Iberian Peninsula (Bilbao) to the UK and the US intended to be operative by 2022<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.expansion.com/economia-digital/companias/2021/09/09/6139f38e468aeba72b8b4594.html|website=[[Expansión (Spanish newspaper)|Expansión]]|title=Grace Hopper: el gran cable submarino de Google llega a España|date=9 September 2021}}</ref> and [[EllaLink]] is an upcoming high-capacity communication cable expected to connect the Peninsula (Sines) to South America and the mammoth [[2Africa|2Africa project]] intends to connect the peninsula to the United Kingdom, Europe and Africa (via Portugal and Barcelona) by 2023–24.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.eldiario.es/tecnologia/callejon-silicio-convertir-Madrid-Europa_0_975353201.html|website=[[Eldiario.es]]|title="El callejón del silicio": el plan para que 'la nube' del sur de Europa se instale en España|date=19 December 2019|first=Carlos del|last=Castillo}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hipertextual.com/2020/06/cables-submarinos-espana-mundo-internet|website=Hipertextual|date=13 June 2020|title=Los cables submarinos que conectan España con el mundo a través de internet|first=José María|last=López}}</ref>

Two gas pipelines: the [[Maghreb–Europe Gas Pipeline|Pedro Duran Farell pipeline]] and (more recently) the [[Medgaz]] (from, respectively, Morocco and Algeria) link the Maghreb and the Iberian Peninsula, providing Spain with Algerian natural gas.{{Sfn|Ghilès|2008|pp=96–97}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vozpopuli.com/economia-y-finanzas/empresas/Argelia-Gas_natural-Medgaz-Jose_Manuel_Garcia-Margallo-Interconexiones-Francia_0_701929820.html|website=Voz Pópuli|title=Saltan las alarmas: la dependencia energética con Argelia roza el 60% en pleno conflicto en Ucrania|first=Baltasar|last=Montaño|date=30 May 2014}}</ref> However the contract for the first pipeline expires on 31 October 2021 and—amidst a tense climate of [[Algeria–Morocco relations|Algerian–Moroccan relations]]—there are no plans to renew it.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lavanguardia.com/politica/20210929/7754133/fatidico-triangulo-argelia-marruecos-espana.html|website=[[La Vanguardia]]|title=Fatídico triángulo: Argelia, Marruecos, España|date=29 September 2021|first=Enric|last=Juliana|author-link=Enric Juliana}}</ref>