The Valladolid-León high-speed line is on course to be commissioned before this summer, Spain’s Minister of Development has announced.

Ana Pastor made the comments during a test ride along the new standard gauge railway, which will extend the Madrid-Valladolid line and improve rail links to Asturias, Cantabria and the Basque Country.

Infrastructure works are now largely complete. The test train called at Palencia station, which is being remodelled to accommodate high-speed trains.

Supporting speeds of 350 km/h, the LAV Valladolid-León, which is 162.7 kilometres long, will reduce journey times between Madrid and León by 47 minutes.

The project has been partly funded by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the TEN-T financing programme.