Spanish PM pushes for train tunnel to North Africa

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero today said that his government was committed to building a high-speed train line to North Africa in a tunnel under the Strait of Gibraltar.

Mr Zapatero, who spoke after a meeting with Moroccan Prime Minister Driss Jettou in Rabat, Morocco, said a tunnel would help speed development on the African side of the Mediterranean.

“The Spanish government has firmly decided to work for the tunnel,” Mr Zapatero said, without providing specifics on when a decision could be taken or when the tunnel could be built.

The tunnel would link the Moroccan city of Tangier to the Spanish city of Tarifa.

Other issues discussed during the talks were immigration and economic co-operation.