Rail transport in Spain
| Spain | |||
 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| High speed AVE train, Madrid-Barcelona line. | |||
| Operation | |||
| National railway | RENFE | ||
| Infrastructure company | Adif | ||
| Major operators | RENFE, FEVE, EuskoTren, FGC, FGV | ||
| Statistics | |||
| System length | |||
| Total | 15,288 km (9,500 mi) | ||
| Electrified | 8,847 km (5,497 mi) | ||
| Gauge | |||
| Broad gauge 1,668 mm (5 ft 5 2⁄3 in) |
11,829 km (7,350 mi) | ||
| Standard gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) |
998 km (620 mi) | ||
| Metre gauge 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) |
1,926 km (1,197 mi) | ||
| Narrow gauge 914 mm (3 ft) |
28 km (17 mi) | ||
| Electrification | |||
| 3000 V DC | Main network | ||
| 25 kV AC | High-speed lines, recent electrification | ||
| Features | |||
| Longest tunnel | Sierra de Guadarrama, 28.4 km (17.6 mi) | ||
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Rail transport in Spain operates on four rail gauges and services are operated by a variety of private and public operators. The total route length in 2008 was 15,288 km (8,847 km electrified):[1]
Most railways are operated by RENFE; metre and narrow-gauge lines are operated by FEVE and other carriers in individual autonomous communities. It is proposed and planned to build or convert more lines to standard gauge,[2] including some dual gauging of broad-gauge lines, especially where these lines link to France, including platforms to be heightened.
Spain is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC). The UIC Country Code for Spain is 71.
Contents |
[edit] History
The first railway line in Iberia was built in 1848 between Barcelona and Mataró[3] In 1852 the first narrow gauge line was built; in 1863 a line reached the Portuguese border. By 1864 the Madrid-Irun line had been opened, and the French border reached.[3]
In 1911 the first line to be electrified was the Gergal-Santa Fe line.[3]
The last steam locomotive was withdrawn in 1975, in 1986 the maximum speed on the railways was raised to 160 km/h, and in 1992 the Madrid-Seville high speed line opened,[3] beginning the process of building a nationwide high speed network.
The current plans of the Spanish government plans to link all the provincial capitals with high speed rail, with a total estimated length of over 9000 km[4] of high-speed railways for 2020.
[edit] Operators
- Renfe Operadora is the state-owned company which operates freight and passenger trains on the 1,668 mm (5 ft 5 2⁄3 in) "Iberian gauge" and 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge networks of the Spanish nationalized infrastructure company ADIF (Spanish: Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias). Both were formed from the break-up of the former national carrier RENFE (Spanish: Red Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Españoles, "Spanish National Railway Network").
- FEVE (Spanish: Ferrocarriles Españoles de Vía Estrecha, "Narrow-Gauge Spanish Railways") is another state-owned Spanish railway company, which operates most of Spain's 1,250 km (780 mi) of narrow gauge rail.
- EuskoTren (Basque: Eusko Trenbideak, Spanish: Ferrocarriles Vascos, "Basque Railways") operates trains on part of the narrow gauge railway network in the Basque Country.
- FGC (Catalan: Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya, "Catalan Government Railways") operates several unconnected lines in Catalonia. It operates 140 km (87 mi) of narrow gauge, 42 km (26 mi) of standard gauge, and 89 km (55 mi) of Iberian gauge routes, two metre gauge rack railways and four funicular railways.
- FGV (Valencian: Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana, "Valencian Government Railways") operates several metre gauge lines in the Valencian Community.
- FS (Catalan: Ferrocarril de Sóller, "Sóller Railways") operates an electrified 914 mm (3 ft) narrow gauge railway on the Spanish island of Majorca between the towns of Palma and Sóller.
- SFM (Catalan: Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca, "Majorcan Railway Servicies") operates the 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) metre gauge railway network on the Spanish island of Majorca.
- Acciona Rail Services, a subsidiary of Acciona, operates a coal cargo line between Asturias and the province of León.
- COMSA Rail Transport, a subsidiary of COMSA, operates a cargo line from the Port of Gijón to Valladolid.
- Continental Rail is dedicated to bringing materials into the gorges of the high-speed lines in progress.
[edit] Metro/light rail systems
- Alicante (Alicante Tram)
- Barcelona (Barcelona Metro/Barcelona Tram)
- Bilbao (Bilbao Metro/Bilbao Tram)
- Granada (Granada Tram) under construction
- Jaén finished without service by political reason
- Madrid (Madrid Metro)
- Palma de Mallorca
- Malaga (Malaga Metro) under construction
- Murcia (Murcia's Tram) under construction
- Parla (Parla Tram or VíaParla)
- Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Metro Tenerife)
- Seville (Seville Metro) under construction
- Valencia (Valencia Metro)
- Vélez-Málaga under construction due to open September 2006
- Vitoria-Gasteiz (Vitoria-Gasteiz tram)
[edit] High speed Standard Gauge
- Córdoba–Málaga high-speed rail line
- Madrid–Barcelona high-speed rail line
- Madrid–Sevilla high-speed rail line
- Madrid–Valladolid high-speed rail line
- Madrid-Valencia high-speed rail line
[edit] Rail links with adjacent countries
Andorra - no rail system in Andorra
France - yes - break-of-gauge 1,668 mm (5 ft 5 2⁄3 in)/1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) (new high-speed lines will link without any break-of-gauge)
Portugal - yes - same gauge
Gibraltar - no extant rail system in Gibraltar
Morocco - no - proposed undersea tunnel
[edit] See also
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rail transport in Spain |
[edit] References
- ^ CIA - The World Factbook - Spain
- ^ Verkehrsrundschau, 2007-04-30
- ^ a b c d e Significant events in the history of Spanish infrastructures and railways www.fomento.es. See also www.biada.com
- ^ Descubre la Alta Velocidad
