Perpignan–Barcelona high-speed rail line

The Perpignan–Barcelona high-speed line is an international high-speed rail line between Perpignan in Roussillon, France and Barcelona, Spain. The line consists of a 175.5-kilometre (109.1 mi) railway, of which 24.6 km (15.3 mi) are in France and 150.8 km (93.7 mi) are in Spain. The line is sometimes referenced as an extension of the Madrid–Barcelona high-speed rail line. The Perpignan–Barcelona line is a part of the Mediterranean Corridor.

During the mid 1990s, both France and Spain resolved to build a high speed crossing of the Pyrenees mountains that separate the two countries; such a line was forecast to secure a 30 per cent share of the land transport market, and be of particular importance to freight movements. On 17 February 2004, a concession was awarded to the TP Ferro consortium, which included the companies Eiffage (France) and ACS / Dragados (Spain), under which the consortium constructed the line at an estimated cost of around €1.1 billion, and was to operate it for 50 years. The most significant civil engineering work on the line was the 8.3-kilometre (5.2 mi) Perthus Tunnel under the Perthus Pass; the line crosses the French–Spanish border within this tunnel. The line uses standard gauge track and 25 kV AC railway electrification at 50 Hz, consistent with the French LGV and Spanish AVE high-speed rail networks.

The line was delivered on 17 February 2009, three months after its connection to the French railway network. However, the first train connection did not take place until 19 December 2010 due to delays in the delivery of the Figueres station. The first service to Barcelona was conducted on 9 January 2013 after the completion of the Figueres-Barcelona line. During 2014, the concessionaire's financial situation deteriorated. The collected tolls were insufficient to repay its creditors the sum of €500 million; a liquidation order for TP Ferro was issued two years later. The line is now operated by France and Spain via the Railway infrastructure managers SNCF Réseau and Adif.