High-speed rail in Spain
Encyclopedia
The high-speed railway network in Spain currently consists of four dedicated passenger train main lines, in Spain named L.A.V. abbreviation for linea de alta velocidad. The total length of the network up to 2.665 Km, making it the longest in Europe, and the second in the world after China.
Connecting the capital Madrid
with several of Spain's largest cities, the four lines are named according to their terminus cities. The first line to open was the Madrid-Seville high-speed rail line (L.A.V. Madrid-Sevilla), followed by the Madrid-Valladolid high-speed rail line (L.A.V. Madrid-Valladolid), the Cordoba-Málaga high speed rail line (L.A.V. Córdoba-Málaga) and the Madrid-Barcelona high speed rail line (L.A.V. Madrid-Barcelona). The network is to be greatly expanded during the next decade with most of the Spanish peninsula being connected.
with the Madrid-Seville main line and Huesca
with the Madrid-Barcelona main line.
with Seville
in the south of Spain, passing through the cities of Ciudad Real
, Puertollano
and Córdoba
, where the Cordoba-Málaga high-speed railway line branches off towards Málaga
just outside of Los Mochos near Almodóvar del Río
. The route travels across the plains of Castile
, travelling through the Sierra Morena
mountains just before reaching Córdoba, before going onward towards Seville through the largely flat land surrounding the Guadalquivir
river. The Madrid-Seville line was the first dedicated passenger high-speed rail line to be built in Spain and was completed in time for Seville's Expo 92
. With a length of 472 km, the fastest train journey between the two cities takes 2 hours and 20 minutes.
, Calatayud
, Zaragoza
, Lleida
and Tarragona
where the future Tarragona-Valencia high-speed railway line will connect. The line has a length of 621 km and a travel time of roughly two and a half hours for the direct trains using the route avoiding entering Zaragoza and Lleida.
connects Madrid with Valladolid to the north of the capital passing the city of Segovia
. The line is 179 km long and supports the longest railway tunnel in Spain at 28 km in length.
On April 24, 2010, it was announced a 55 km high-speed spur would leave the Madrid-Valladolid route at Segovia and continue to Avila. Initial plans are expected to be complete by the end of 2010.
and Algeciras
. In the future, the line will also support the traffic between Madrid and the Costa del Sol high-speed rail line.
service between the two cities offers journey times of half an hour on trains with a maximum speed of 250 km/h.
-Valencia/Albacete
section, which was opened in December, 2010 followed by Albacete/Valencia-Alicante
in 2012 and finally reaching the cities of Murcia
and Castellón
in 2015. A branch line to Cartagena
is also included in the network, but no opening date for that line exists.
and Mérida
. Once built, the travel time between the two cities will be drastically reduced to around 3 hours.
stations. Currently, trains going to Valladolid
leave from Chamartín and trains going to Seville
, Málaga
and Barcelona
leave from Atocha station. Also, there is a single daily service in each direction running along the Barcelona-Seville and Barcelona-Málaga routes, which uses the high-speed bypass around Madrid
(the only alternative is to have the driver walk from one end of the train to the other, which would have a negative effect on journey times). The tunnel will allow services serving northern cities to travel non-stop through Madrid and onward to southern cities (or vice versa), without the driver having to change ends or bypass Madrid, a valuable source of passengers: currently, someone wanting to travel from Valladolid to Málaga, for instance, must travel from Valladolid Campo Grande station to Madrid Chamartín station before taking a Cercanías
service to Atocha; then finally taking an onward train to Málaga.
On April 24, 2010, tunneling started on the 7.3 km route connecting Atocha and Chamartin.
From Alcázar de San Juan the existing railway line will be uppgraded to allow passenger trains to run up to 250 km/h; a new double-tracked route through the Despeñaperros
mountain range will be built to replace the existing single-tracked route. This part of the high-speed railway also forms part of the Madrid-Algeciras freight corridor. An extension of the line to Granada is being investigated; however, the complicated terrain between Jaén and Granada might make it uneconomical.
(44,4 km) was opened in December 2010. Since then, French TGV trains operate from Paris. The railway Barcelona–Figueres is expected to be opened in 2012.
-Burgos part around 2013 and the Burgos
-Vitoria-Gasteiz
part in 2014 or 2015. At Vitoria it will connect to the Basque high-speed railway line, thus reaching the French border. Once opened, the travel time between Valladolid and Vitoria will be around an hour.
connecting the three Basque capitals, Vitoria-Gasteiz
, Bilbao
and San Sebastián
. Construction began in 2007 and the railway line is forecast to open in 2016.
which runs under the Asturian mountain range.
Connecting the capital Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
with several of Spain's largest cities, the four lines are named according to their terminus cities. The first line to open was the Madrid-Seville high-speed rail line (L.A.V. Madrid-Sevilla), followed by the Madrid-Valladolid high-speed rail line (L.A.V. Madrid-Valladolid), the Cordoba-Málaga high speed rail line (L.A.V. Córdoba-Málaga) and the Madrid-Barcelona high speed rail line (L.A.V. Madrid-Barcelona). The network is to be greatly expanded during the next decade with most of the Spanish peninsula being connected.
Lines in operation
Currently there are four main lines in operation with two spur lines connecting the cities of ToledoToledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
with the Madrid-Seville main line and Huesca
Huesca
Huesca is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the autonomous community of Aragon. It is also the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and the comarca of Hoya de Huesca....
with the Madrid-Barcelona main line.
Madrid-Seville high-speed railway line
The Madrid–Seville high-speed railway line connects MadridMadrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
with Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
in the south of Spain, passing through the cities of Ciudad Real
Ciudad Real
Ciudad Real is a city in Castile-La Mancha, Spain, with a population of c. 74,000. It is the capital of the province of Ciudad Real. It has a stop on the AVE high-speed rail line and has begun to grow as a long-distance commuter suburb of Madrid, located 115 miles to the north. A high capacity...
, Puertollano
Puertollano
Puertollano is an industrial city in province of Ciudad Real, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It is situated on the AVE High Speed Train line linking Madrid and Seville . The city has a population of 51,842 .- Legend of the lie :...
and Córdoba
Córdoba, Spain
-History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...
, where the Cordoba-Málaga high-speed railway line branches off towards Málaga
Málaga
Málaga is a city and a municipality in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of 568,507 in 2010, it is the second most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth largest in Spain. This is the southernmost large city in Europe...
just outside of Los Mochos near Almodóvar del Río
Almodóvar del Río
Almodóvar del Río is a city located in the province of Córdoba, Spain.-External links:* - Sistema de Información Multiterritorial de Andalucía...
. The route travels across the plains of Castile
Castile (historical region)
A former kingdom, Castile gradually merged with its neighbours to become the Crown of Castile and later the Kingdom of Spain when united with the Crown of Aragon and the Kingdom of Navarre...
, travelling through the Sierra Morena
Sierra Morena
The Sierra Morena is one of the main systems of mountain ranges in Spain.It stretches for 400 kilometres East-West across southern Spain, forming the southern border of the Meseta Central plateau of the Iberian Peninsula, and providing the watershed between the valleys of the Guadiana to the...
mountains just before reaching Córdoba, before going onward towards Seville through the largely flat land surrounding the Guadalquivir
Guadalquivir
The Guadalquivir is the fifth longest river in the Iberian peninsula and the second longest river to be its whole length in Spain. The Guadalquivir is 657 kilometers long and drains an area of about 58,000 square kilometers...
river. The Madrid-Seville line was the first dedicated passenger high-speed rail line to be built in Spain and was completed in time for Seville's Expo 92
Seville Expo '92
The Universal Exposition of Seville took place from Monday, April 20 to Monday, October 12, 1992 on La Isla de La Cartuja , Seville, Spain. The theme for the Expo was "The Age of Discovery" and over 100 countries were represented...
. With a length of 472 km, the fastest train journey between the two cities takes 2 hours and 20 minutes.
Madrid-Barcelona high-speed railway line
Madrid–Barcelona high-speed railway line connects Madrid with Barcelona in the north east of Spain passing the cities of GuadalajaraGuadalajara
Guadalajara may refer to:In Mexico:*Guadalajara, Jalisco, the capital of the state of Jalisco and second largest city in Mexico**Guadalajara Metropolitan Area*University of Guadalajara, a public university in Guadalajara, Jalisco...
, Calatayud
Calatayud
Calatayud is a city and municipality in the province of Zaragoza in Aragón, Spain lying on the river Jalón, in the midst of the Sistema Ibérico mountain range. It is the second-largest city in the province after the capital, Zaragoza, and the largest town in Aragón other than the three provincial...
, Zaragoza
Zaragoza
Zaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...
, Lleida
Lleida
Lleida is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital city of the province of Lleida, as well as the largest city in the province and it had 137,387 inhabitants , including the contiguous municipalities of Raimat and Sucs. The metro area has about 250,000 inhabitants...
and Tarragona
Tarragona
Tarragona is a city located in the south of Catalonia on the north-east of Spain, by the Mediterranean. It is the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and the capital of the Catalan comarca Tarragonès. In the medieval and modern times it was the capital of the Vegueria of Tarragona...
where the future Tarragona-Valencia high-speed railway line will connect. The line has a length of 621 km and a travel time of roughly two and a half hours for the direct trains using the route avoiding entering Zaragoza and Lleida.
Madrid-Valladolid high-speed railway line
Madrid–Valladolid high-speed rail lineMadrid–Valladolid high-speed rail line
The Madrid–Valladolid high-speed rail line opened for commercial service on 23 December 2007 and is the first instalment of a high-speed rail corridor in the north and northwest of Spain...
connects Madrid with Valladolid to the north of the capital passing the city of Segovia
Segovia
Segovia is a city in Spain, the capital of Segovia Province in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is situated north of Madrid, 30 minutes by high speed train. The municipality counts some 55,500 inhabitants.-Etymology:...
. The line is 179 km long and supports the longest railway tunnel in Spain at 28 km in length.
On April 24, 2010, it was announced a 55 km high-speed spur would leave the Madrid-Valladolid route at Segovia and continue to Avila. Initial plans are expected to be complete by the end of 2010.
Cordoba-Málaga high-speed railway line
Cordoba–Málaga high-speed rail line connects the city of Cordoba with the city of Málaga. The line is a 155 km long spur line to the Madrid-Seville high-speed rail line, but with the characteristics of a main line. Apart from the traffic to and from the city of Málaga, the line also handles the traffic to the cities of GranadaGranada
Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...
and Algeciras
Algeciras
Algeciras is a port city in the south of Spain, and is the largest city on the Bay of Gibraltar . Port of Algeciras is one of the largest ports in Europe and in the world in three categories: container,...
. In the future, the line will also support the traffic between Madrid and the Costa del Sol high-speed rail line.
Madrid-Toledo high-speed railway line
The Madrid-Toledo high-speed rail line branches off from the Seville and Málaga routes around the depot at La Sagra. The AvantAvant
Myron Avant , better known as Avant is an American R&B singer-songwriter. He is best known for hits such as "Separated" , "My First Love," which one version features KeKe Wyatt, and "Read Your Mind"...
service between the two cities offers journey times of half an hour on trains with a maximum speed of 250 km/h.
Madrid-Valencia high-speed railway line
The 350 km/h Madrid-Valencia line was officially finished on Friday 10 Dec 2010, with commercial trips starting on Saturday 18 Dec 2010. It is serviced by 30 AVE S-102, trains, assembled by the Talgo-Bombardier consortium. Direct trains cover the 391 km in 95 minutes. It is part of the Madrid-Levante lines (see below).Madrid-Albacete high-speed railway line
The 350 km/h line branches off from the Madrid-Valencia Line, and brings the total length of the network up to 2,665 km, making it the longest in Europe and the second-longest in the world after China. It is part of the Madrid-Levante lines (see below). Direct trains Toledo-Albacete are also scheduled, combining four of the existing lines.Madrid-Levante high speed-railway line
The Madrid-Levante high-speed rail is a network of railways connecting the capital with the Mediterranean coast. Consisting of 940 km of railways with an estimated cost of 12.5 billion euros, it is the most expensive high-speed railway project in Spain. The network will consist of both dedicated passenger high-speed railways designed for trains running above 300 km/h and high-speed railways shared with freight trains. The network is to be opened in stages, starting with the MadridMadrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
-Valencia/Albacete
Albacete
Albacete is a city and municipality in southeastern Spain, 258 km southeast of Madrid, the capital of the province of Albacete in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. The municipality had a population of c. 169,700 in 2009....
section, which was opened in December, 2010 followed by Albacete/Valencia-Alicante
Alicante
Alicante or Alacant is a city in Spain, the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of Alacantí, in the south of the Valencian Community. It is also a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city of Alicante proper was 334,418, estimated , ranking as the second-largest...
in 2012 and finally reaching the cities of Murcia
Murcia
-History:It is widely believed that Murcia's name is derived from the Latin words of Myrtea or Murtea, meaning land of Myrtle , although it may also be a derivation of the word Murtia, which would mean Murtius Village...
and Castellón
Castellón de la Plana
Castellón de la Plana or Castelló de la Plana is the capital city of the province of Castelló, in the Valencian Community, Spain, in the east of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Costa del Azahar by the Mediterranean Sea...
in 2015. A branch line to Cartagena
Cartagena, Spain
Cartagena is a Spanish city and a major naval station located in the Region of Murcia, by the Mediterranean coast, south-eastern Spain. As of January 2011, it has a population of 218,210 inhabitants being the Region’s second largest municipality and the country’s 6th non-Province capital...
is also included in the network, but no opening date for that line exists.
Madrid-Lisbon high-speed railway line
The high-speed rail line connecting the two capitals on the Iberian peninsula; Portugal's section will be the first "standard gauge' railway in that country as it shares the same broad gauge standard as Spain. Designed as a mixed use railway line shared between passenger and freight rail, it will have a length of 439 km on the Spanish side, of which 48 km are part of the already- built Madrid-Seville high-speed rail line. Construction on the Spanish side began in late 2008 on a segment between the cities of BadajozBadajoz
Badajoz is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain, situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana, and the Madrid–Lisbon railway. The population in 2007 was 145,257....
and Mérida
Mérida, Spain
Mérida is the capital of the autonomous community of Extremadura, western central Spain. It has a population of 57,127 . The Archaeological Ensemble of Mérida is a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1993.- Climate :...
. Once built, the travel time between the two cities will be drastically reduced to around 3 hours.
Madrid Interconnector
A new interconnecting tunnel is planned between Atocha and ChamartínChamartín
Chamartín is an administrative district of Madrid, Spain and consists of the following neighborhoods: El Viso, Prosperidad, Ciudad Jardín, Hispanoamérica, Nueva España, and Pza...
stations. Currently, trains going to Valladolid
Valladolid
Valladolid is a historic city and municipality in north-central Spain, situated at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers, and located within three wine-making regions: Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Cigales...
leave from Chamartín and trains going to Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
, Málaga
Málaga
Málaga is a city and a municipality in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of 568,507 in 2010, it is the second most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth largest in Spain. This is the southernmost large city in Europe...
and Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
leave from Atocha station. Also, there is a single daily service in each direction running along the Barcelona-Seville and Barcelona-Málaga routes, which uses the high-speed bypass around Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
(the only alternative is to have the driver walk from one end of the train to the other, which would have a negative effect on journey times). The tunnel will allow services serving northern cities to travel non-stop through Madrid and onward to southern cities (or vice versa), without the driver having to change ends or bypass Madrid, a valuable source of passengers: currently, someone wanting to travel from Valladolid to Málaga, for instance, must travel from Valladolid Campo Grande station to Madrid Chamartín station before taking a Cercanías
Cercanías
Cercanías is the name given to the commuter rail systems of Spain's major metropolitan areas. In Catalonia and Valencia, however, the term is replaced by Rodalies , while the designation Aldirikoak is used in the Basque Country....
service to Atocha; then finally taking an onward train to Málaga.
On April 24, 2010, tunneling started on the 7.3 km route connecting Atocha and Chamartin.
Madrid-Jaén high-speed railway line
This high-speed railway line will be part passenger-dedicated high-speed railway (Madrid-Alcázar de San Juan) and part shared with freight trains (Alcázar de San Juan-Jaén). The first 99 km of the line will use the already existing Madrid-Seville high-speed railway line. From there, a 67,5 km branch line will be constructed towards Alcázar de San Juan.From Alcázar de San Juan the existing railway line will be uppgraded to allow passenger trains to run up to 250 km/h; a new double-tracked route through the Despeñaperros
Despeñaperros
Despeñaperros is a gorge or canyon carved out by the Despeñaperros River. It is located in the municipality of Santa Elena in the northern portion of the province of Jaén, Spain...
mountain range will be built to replace the existing single-tracked route. This part of the high-speed railway also forms part of the Madrid-Algeciras freight corridor. An extension of the line to Granada is being investigated; however, the complicated terrain between Jaén and Granada might make it uneconomical.
Barcelona–Perpignan (France)
The high speed line LGV Perpignan-FigueresLGV Perpignan-Figueres
The LGV Perpignan–Figueres is an international high-speed rail line between France and Spain. The line connects two cities on opposite sides of the border, Perpignan in Roussillon, France, and Figueres in Catalonia, Spain. It consists of a line which crosses the French–Spanish border via the ...
(44,4 km) was opened in December 2010. Since then, French TGV trains operate from Paris. The railway Barcelona–Figueres is expected to be opened in 2012.
Valladolid-Vitoria high-speed railway line
The extension of the Madrid-Valladolid high-speed railway line began construction in 2009. This 223,4 km railway line will run parallel to the 244,8 km long existing railway line. Originally it was to be used as a mixed-use high-speed railway line, but it has since been changed to a passenger-dedicated railway line, leaving the existing railway line for freight trains. The line is forecast to open the ValladolidValladolid
Valladolid is a historic city and municipality in north-central Spain, situated at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers, and located within three wine-making regions: Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Cigales...
-Burgos part around 2013 and the Burgos
Burgos
Burgos is a city of northern Spain, historic capital of Castile. It is situated at the edge of the central plateau, with about 178,966 inhabitants in the city proper and another 20,000 in its suburbs. It is the capital of the province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León...
-Vitoria-Gasteiz
Vitoria-Gasteiz
Vitoria-Gasteiz is the capital city of the province of Álava and of the autonomous community of the Basque Country in northern Spain with a population of 235,661 people. It is the second largest Basque city...
part in 2014 or 2015. At Vitoria it will connect to the Basque high-speed railway line, thus reaching the French border. Once opened, the travel time between Valladolid and Vitoria will be around an hour.
The Basque Y high-speed railway line
The Basque high-speed railway lineBasque Y
Basque Y is the name given to the Spanish high-speed rail network being built between the three cities of the Basque Country autonomous community; Bilbao, Vitoria-Gasteiz and Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain.-Characteristics:...
connecting the three Basque capitals, Vitoria-Gasteiz
Vitoria-Gasteiz
Vitoria-Gasteiz is the capital city of the province of Álava and of the autonomous community of the Basque Country in northern Spain with a population of 235,661 people. It is the second largest Basque city...
, Bilbao
Bilbao
Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...
and San Sebastián
San Sebastián
Donostia-San Sebastián is a city and municipality located in the north of Spain, in the coast of the Bay of Biscay and 20 km away from the French border. The city is the capital of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. The municipality’s population is 186,122 , and its...
. Construction began in 2007 and the railway line is forecast to open in 2016.
Olmedo-Galicia high-speed railway line
The 424km long high-speed railway line connecting Madrid with Santiago de Compostela and the Atlantic axis high speed railway line in Galicia in the North West of Spain. The line starts at Olmedo 130km to the north of Madrid on the Madrid-Valladolid high-speed railway line. Construction on the northernmost part of the line between the cities of Ourense and Santiago de Compostela began late 2004 and is slated for completion 2012.Venta de Baños-Gijón high-speed railway line
The high-speed railway line connecting Madrid to the cities of León, Oviedo and Gijón in the north of Spain. The line starts at Venta de Baños: 205 km north of Madrid on the Valladolid-Vitoria high-speed railway line. It includes the 24,7 km long Pajares Base TunnelPajares Base Tunnel
The new Pajares Tunnel is a 24,667 m-long railway tunnel under construction in Spain. It will be on the AVE line from Valladolid to Gijón but could be used also by freight trains in the future....
which runs under the Asturian mountain range.
The transversal axis high-speed railway line
The Andalusian transversal high-speed railway line is a 503.7-kilometre railway running between the cities of Huelva and Almeria, passing the cities of Sevilla and Granada. The line is designed for speeds up to 250 kilometres per hour, except for the 130-kilometre Antequerra-Granada and the 103-kilometre Seville-Huelva parts of the line, which are designed for speeds in excess of 300 kilometres per hour; A connection between Huelva and the Portuguese border is being studied.See also
- Alta Velocidad Española
- Rail transport in Spain