Ave Very

''Alta Velocidad Española'' (''AVE'') is a service of high-speed rail in Spain operated by Renfe, the Spanish national railway company, at speeds of up to . As of December 2021, the Spanish high-speed rail network, on part of which the AVE service runs, is the longest HSR network in Europe with and the second longest in the world, after China's.

AVE trains run on a network of high-speed rail track owned and managed by ADIF (''Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias''), where other high speed (, Alvia, Avlo) and mid-speed ( Altaria) services also operate. The first line was opened in 1992, connecting the cities of Madrid, Córdoba and Seville. Unlike the rest of the Iberian broad gauge network, the AVE uses standard gauge. This permits direct connections to outside Spain through the link to the French network at the Perthus Tunnel. AVE trains are operated by Renfe, but private companies may be able to operate trains in the future using other brands, in accordance with European Union legislation. Some TGV-derived trains used to run on the broad-gauge network at slower speeds, but these were branded separately as Euromed until new rolling stock was commissioned for these services.

Renfe is the dominant high-speed rail operator in Spain, but private companies Ouigo España and Iryo compete on the Madrid–Barcelona route. French TGV services run from the border to Barcelona.

translates to "Spanish High Speed", but the initials are also a play on the word , meaning "bird".

History

New rail link to Andalusia

Towards the end of the 1980s a new line was planned to join the Castilian Meseta with Andalusia without passing through the Despeñaperros Natural Park. After considering various options it was decided that a standard-gauge line, allowing for Spain's first high-speed rail link, would be built. The project was named NAFA (''Nuevo Acceso Ferroviario a Andalucía'', New Rail Link to Andalusia) and was meant to help revitalise the stagnant southern Spanish economy. The line was inaugurated on 14 April 1992 to coincide with Expo 92 being held in Seville. Seven days later on 21 April 1992 commercial service began with six daily services stopping at Madrid, Seville, Córdoba, Puertollano and Ciudad Real. In October 1992 Renfe began the AVE Lanzadera (Shuttle) service between Madrid and Puertollano and Ciudad Real.

It has been suggested that the PSOE government chose the French Alstom bid over the Siemens and Talgo bids for political rather than technical reasons, rewarding the French government for its assistance in capturing ETA activists who took "sanctuary" across the border in southern France. Seville's hosting of the 1992 World's Fair prompted the choice of that city for the inaugural AVE line, with its being the home town of then Spanish prime minister Felipe González also playing some role. Seville is the artistic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain and the fourth largest city in Spain, after Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia, with a population of over 700,000 and a metropolitan area of almost 1.5 million people. It is also the capital of Andalusia, Spain's most populous autonomous community (region).

In January 1993 the ''Talgo 200 Madrid–Málaga'' service began, using AVE lines as far as Córdoba and then the Córdoba–Málaga Spanish-gauge conventional track to reach Málaga. On 23 April that year, the AVE set a new top speed of on a test run. Later in 1993 the mixed-method services ''Talgo 200 Madrid–Cádiz'' and ''Talgo 200 Madrid–Huelva'' began.

In 1994 AVE trains on the Madrid–Seville line began to run at 300 km/h, cutting journey times by at least 40 minutes and covering the 471 km in hours, though it is unlikely that much of a saving came from the increase in maximum speed, because only a small section of the line near Los Yébenes has the alignments for 300 km/h operation. The maximum permitted speed is 270 km/h between Atocha station and Brazatortas, save for the approaches to the intermediate stations (Atocha, Ciudad Real and Puertollano). Beyond Brazatortas, the line is only authorised for 250 km/h operation, which drops to 215 km/h in the Sierra Morena mountains and 90 km/h around Córdoba station. It is more likely that time savings occurred as a result of there being fewer intermediate stops.

Although in 1999 Renfe began a mixed-service ''Talgo 200 Madrid–Algeciras'' route, this was, along with the other mixed services, transferred to ''Grandes Líneas Renfe'' (Renfe's Spanish gauge long-distance brand) following changes to plans for high-speed rail in Spain.

The last segment of the Madrid–Málaga high-speed rail line was completed on 24 December 2007 when the new high speed railway section between the cities of Córdoba and Málaga was inaugurated. It is a standard gauge railway line of 155 km in length and is designed for speeds of 300 km/h (186 mph). It has compatibility with neighbouring countries' railway systems as well.

In October 2015 an extension of the Madrid-Seville high-speed rail line to Cádiz was completed after 14 years of works and put in service by Alvia trains for speeds up to 200 km/h. In 2019 the Antequera–Granada high-speed rail line opened.

AVANT – Media Distancia

In 1992, a new high-speed medium distance service (''AV Media Distancia'' operating under the AVE Lanzadera brand) began between Madrid, Ciudad Real and Puertollano, using spare class 100 trains. In November 2003 a new service began between Seville and Córdoba using new class 104 trains, reducing journey times between the two cities to 40 minutes.

In 2005 the brand was renamed RENFE Avant, and all services started to use class 104 trains, leaving class 100 for AVE services.

The construction of a stretch of high-speed line from Madrid to Toledo allowed the inauguration of a medium distance service in November 2005. The journey time between the two cities is now less than 30 minutes. The high-speed link combined with high property prices in Madrid has encouraged many Madrid commuters to settle in Ciudad Real, the first stop on the Madrid–Seville line. There has, however, been controversy over the construction of this line as the change to standard-gauge track meant that towns such as Getafe, Aranjuez and Algodor, which now have no commercial services, lost their direct services to Toledo. Furthermore, since Toledo is now connected by standard-gauge track it is impossible for other passenger or goods trains to reach it that have not come from other high-speed lines.

Further Avant services have been launched with the expansion of the AVE lines to Valladolid, Barcelona, Málaga and Galicia. See below for details of all Avant services.

In the Valladolid line, new class 114 trains are used. Both Avant class 104 and class 114 trains are Pendolino designs, without tilting capacity:

- Avant class 104 trains are based in ETR 480

- Avant class 114 trains are based in ETR 600

Madrid–Barcelona

The Madrid–Zaragoza –Barcelona line was inaugurated on 20 February 2008, after parts of the line had operated since 2003 (Madrid–Zaragoza–Lleida) and 2006 (Lleida–Tarragona). This line is currently one of the world's fastest long-distance trains in commercial operation, with non-stop trains covering the between the two cities in just 2 hours 30 minutes, and those calling at all stations in 3 hours 10 minutes. The line includes a spur railway that branches off at Zaragoza towards Huesca in north Aragon. The Madrid-Huesca high-speed rail line was inaugurated in 2005.

The line currently terminates at Barcelona Sants railway station, but a new station is under construction at La Sagrera on the northern edge of the city. The Sants–La Sagrera tunnel links the Barcelona Sants station in Barcelona with the future Sagrera station through the Eixample district. The tunnel passes under and along the streets of Provença and Mallorca, while uses a short part under Diagonal avenue to link between these two streets. In the ''Carrer de Mallorca'' street, the tunnel passes directly in front of Gaudí's masterpiece, the basilica of the Sagrada Família, and in the ''Carrer de Provença'' street, near another Gaudí's architectural work, the Casa Milà. In a long campaign against this route, the ''Board of the Sagrada Família'' and other parties argued that the tunnel would damage the church, whose construction is still in progress. In this discussion about different possible routes, the one now built is also called the ''Provença tunnel'' because part of its route passes under the street of the same name.

The tunnel boring machine ''Barcino'' passed the Sagrada Família in October 2010, and reached its final destination a few months later. In March 2012, railway equipment was installed, with a special elastic isolation of the rails in order to dampen vibrations at the sections passing close to Gaudí's architectural works, using the Edilon system. Rail traffic was planned to start in 2012, initially without stops at the La Sagrera station, which was expected to be completed in 2016. Map of the tunnel route and details if the railway equipment in the tunnel in a PDF in ''El Periodico''
/ref> The Sants–La Sagrera tunnel was finally inaugurated on 8 January 2013 along with the Perpignan–Barcelona high-speed rail line while commercial services via the tunnel towards France begun on the following day. However, works on the Sagrera station suspended in early 2014 due to a corruption scandal involving one of the companies carrying out the works. Construction works at the station were finally resumed in 2018 and the new AVE station is now expected to open in 2023.

Northern corridors

The first installment of a high-speed rail corridor in the north and north-west of Spain was the 179.6 km section Madrid–Segovia–Valladolid which was put in operation on 22 December 2007. It includes a tunnel of at Guadarrama, which is the fourth longest train tunnel in Europe. The extension of the line with the 162.7 km section Valladolid–Venta de Baños–Leon was inaugurated on 29 September 2015. Valladolid will become the hub for all AVE lines connecting the north and north-west of Spain with the rest of the country. On 24 April 2010, it was announced a 55 km high-speed spur would leave the Madrid–Valladolid route at Segovia and continue to Ávila. Initial plans were expected to be complete by the end of 2010 but as of 2020 this line remains unfinished.

On 21 July 2022 a new 86.5 km section between Venta de Baños and Burgos was inaugurated after 13 years of works at an investment cost of 759 million euros and introduced a new AVE Madrid-Burgos service that cuts the journey time between the two cities down to just over an hour and a half. This section is the first expansion of the high-speed network to the north-northeast towards the Spanish region of the Basque Country and the future Basque high-speed railway line (Basque Y). It includes 2 tunnels and 12 viaducts, the longest of them passes over Pisuerga river and Autovía A-62 highway.

In the north-west of Spain the Madrid–Galicia high-speed rail line completed on 21 December 2021 after 20 years of works when the Olmedo– Zamora–Santiago de Compostela section was finished. This line is connected to the Madrid–Leon line at Olmedo south of Valladolid.

Construction on the 87.1 km northernmost part of this section between the cities of Ourense and Santiago de Compostela began late 2004 and this part was inaugurated in December 2011. The 107 km southern section, between Olmedo (130 km north of Madrid on the Madrid–Leon line) and Zamora entered revenue service on 17 December 2015 by Alvia trains. The 110 km new built section in the middle between Zamora and Otero de Sanabria near the town of Puebla de Sanabria was put in service on 26 October 2020, while the 119.4 km last remaining part between Puebla de Sanabria and Ourense which crosses some of Spain's most remote and fragile nature areas, was completed in end 2021. Up to that date the entire line was served by Alvia S-730 (''Patito'', max speed ) trains.

This line is connected in the region of Galicia with the 156 km Atlantic Axis high-speed rail line that connects the cities of Vigo and A Coruña via Santiago de Compostela. The Atlantic Axis was inaugurated in April 2015 while the section A Coruña–Santiago de Compostela opened in 2009 and was electrified in 2011. The new railway shortened the distance between the two cities by 22 km, from 178 km to 156 km, and cut the travel time from around 3 hours on the old railway down to 1 hour and 20 minutes on the new one. 37 tunnels totalling 59 km and 34 bridges totalling 15 km form part of the rebuilt railway.

Eastern corridors

The Madrid–Levante network connects Madrid with the Mediterranean coast of the Levante Region (Eastern Spain). The Madrid– Cuenca–Valencia line was officially finished on Friday, 10 December 2010, with commercial trips starting on Saturday 18 December 2010. Non-stop trains between Madrid and Valencia cover the in 1 hour 38 minutes. The Madrid–Albacete–Alicante line was inaugurated on 17 June 2013. Trains cover the distance between Madrid and Alicante in 2 hour 12 minutes. On 22 January 2018 the extension section of the line to Castellón was inaugurated introducing a new AVE service Madrid-Castellón which cut the journey time between the two cities by further 30 minutes to total 2 hours and 25 minutes. The first stretch of the AVE service from Madrid to Murcia was inaugurated on 1 February 2021, linking Monforte del Cid, Elche and Orihuela, while the continuation up to Murcia is expected to be operational in 2021, and work is being prepared to extend the line to Cartagena. When fully operational the Madrid–Levante network will total 955 km of high-speed rail connecting Madrid, Cuenca, Albacete, Valencia, Alicante, Elche and Cartagena.

International connection with France

A milestone for the AVE network was reached in December 2013 when it was connected to the rest of Europe via France. The connecting link was the construction of the Barcelona–Figueres section of the Perpignan–Barcelona high-speed line, an extension of the Madrid–Barcelona line, completed in January 2013 at a cost of €3.7 billion. The international Perpignan–Figueres section of the line opened in December 2010 and includes the new Perthus Tunnel under the Pyrenees.

The high-speed Barcelona-Figueres section (from Barcelona to the French border) was officially inaugurated in January 2013. The journey from the centre of Barcelona to the centre of Girona takes now 37 minutes (compared to the previous 90 minutes), and to Figueres in 53 minutes (instead of two hours). Girona and Figueres are now 14 minutes from each other. The Perpignan (France)-Figueres section opened in 2010. One lacking high-speed section on the French side, between Montpellier and Nîmes, opened in July 2018, allowing almost continuous high-speed travel from the French high-speed network to the Spanish one. The French government, on the other hand, recently announced indefinite delays to the Montpellier-Perpignan high speed section that was originally planned for 2020.

Madrid interconnector

On 24 April 2010, tunnelling started on the 7.3 km route connecting the 2 main stations in Madrid, Madrid Atocha and Madrid Chamartín. Electrification works for the line along with line duplication works in the section between Atocha and Torrejón de Velasco started in 2017 and these works were expected to be completed in early 2018 and the line was hoped to open for commercial service for AVE trains within the same year. A later announcement postponed the opening for the second half of 2020. However, delays in the schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic postponed it further. In November 2021, the inauguration of the interconnector was projected to the first trimester of 2022. Test runs were being conducted in early February 2022, and the line was expected to be ready for permit application in early March.
The tunnel finally opened on July 1, 2022.

Before this all trains going towards Valladolid left from Chamartín and trains going to Seville, Málaga, Valencia, Alicante and Barcelona left from Atocha station. Also, there is a single daily service in each direction running along the Barcelona–Seville, Barcelona–Málaga, and Barcelona-Granada routes, which uses the high-speed bypass around Madrid to avoid reversing the direction of train in Atocha station. The tunnel now allows services serving northern cities to travel non-stop or with a 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. Previously someone wanting to travel from Valladolid to Alicante, for instance, had to travel from Valladolid Campo Grande station to Madrid Chamartín station before taking a Cercanías service to Atocha; then finally taking an onward train to Alicante.

Incidents and accidents

* Santiago de Compostela derailment
* Euromed (train)#2002 accident, Euromed 2002 accident

Operational services

The Spanish high-speed network is used, among others, by the following services:
* international:
** Barcelona–Lyon via Girona, Figueres, Perpignan, Narbonne, Béziers, Montpellier, Nîmes, and Valence.
** Barcelona–Paris via Girona, Figueres, Perpignan, Narbonne, Béziers, Agde, Sète, Montpellier, Nîmes, and Valence.
** Barcelona–Toulouse via Girona, Figueres, Perpignan, and Carcassonne.
** Madrid–Barcelona–Marseille via Zaragoza, Tarragona, Barcelona, Girona, Figueres, Perpignan, Narbonne, Béziers, Montpellier, Nîmes, Avignon, and Aix-en-Provence
* :
** Barcelona–Granada via Tarragona, Lleida, Zaragoza, Córdoba, Puente Genil-Herrera and Antequera.
** Barcelona–Seville via Tarragona, Lleida, Zaragoza, Ciudad Real, Puertollano, and Córdoba.
** Madrid–Alicante via Cuenca, Albacete, and Villena.
** Madrid–Barcelona via Zaragoza, Lleida, and Tarragona.
** Madrid–Burgos via Valladolid.
** Madrid–Castellón via Cuenca and Valencia.
** Madrid–Granada via Ciudad Real, Puertollano, Córdoba, Puente Genil-Herrera, Antequera and Loja.
** Madrid–Huesca via Guadalajara, Calatayud, Zaragoza, and Tardienta.
** Madrid–León via Valladolid and Palencia.
** Madrid–Málaga via Córdoba, Puente Genil-Herrera, and Antequera.
** Madrid–Orihuela via Cuenca, Albacete, and Elche.
** Madrid–Ourense via Zamora.
** Madrid–Seville via Ciudad Real, Puertollano, and Córdoba.
** Madrid–Valencia via Cuenca and Requena-Utiel.
** Málaga–Barcelona via Antequera, Puente Genil-Herrera, Córdoba, Zaragoza, and Tarragona.
** Valencia–Seville via Cuenca, Ciudad Real, Puertollano, and Córdoba.
** Valencia–Burgos via Madrid Chamartín.
* (mid distance):
** A Coruña–Santiago de Compostela–Ourense.
** Barcelona−Girona−Figueres.
** Barcelona–Tarragona–Lleida.
** Barcelona–Tortosa via Camp de Tarragona, Cambrils and L'Hospitalet de l'Infant.
** Calatayud–Zaragoza.
** Madrid–Ciudad Real–Puertollano.
** Madrid–Segovia–Valladolid.
** Madrid–Toledo.
** Málaga–Córdoba–Seville via Antequera and Puente Genil-Herrera.
** Málaga–Granada via Loja.
** Ourense–Santiago de Compostela–A Coruña.
** Valencia–Requena Utiel.
* (mixed high-speed/conventional):
** Alicante–Santander, via Villena, Albacete, Cuenca, Madrid, Segovia, Valladolid, Palencia and Torrelavega.
** Barcelona–A Coruña, via Lleida, Zaragoza, Pamplona, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Burgos, León, Ponferrada, Ourense and Santiago de Compostela.
** Barcelona–Bilbao, via Camp Tarragona, Lleida, Zaragoza, Tudela, Castejon, Calahorra, Logroño, Haro and Miranda De Ebro.
** Barcelona–San Sebastian, via Camp Tarragona, Lleida, Zaragoza, Tudela, Castejon, Tafalla, Pamplona, Altsasu and Zumarraga.
** Barcelona–Salamanca, via Camp Tarragona, Lleida, Zaragoza, Tudela, Castejon, Tafalla, Pamplona, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Miranda de Ebro, Burgos, Valladolid and Medina del Campo.
** Barcelona–Vigo, via Lleida, Zaragoza, Pamplona, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Burgos, León, Ponferrada and Ourense, with connection services to Gijón in León and to A Coruña in Monforte de Lemos.
** Gijón–Oropesa Del Mar, via Oviedo, Mieres Del Camín, La Pola, León, Palencia, Valladolid, Segovia, Madrid, Cuenca, Requena Utiel, Valencia, Sagunt, Castellón and Benicàssim.
** Gijón–Alicante, via Oviedo, Mieres Del Camín, La Pola, León, Palencia, Valladolid, Segovia, Madrid, Cuenca, Albacete and Villena.
** Madrid–A Coruña, via Zamora, Ourense and Santiago de Compostela.
** Madrid–Badajoz, via Leganés, Torrijos, Talavera De La Reina, Oropesa, Navalmoral De La Mata, Monfragüe-plasencia, Cáceres and Mérida.
** Madrid–Bilbao, via Segovia, Valladolid, Burgos and Miranda de Ebro.
** Madrid–Cádiz, via Ciudad Real, Puertollano, Córdoba, Sevilla and Jerez de la Frontera.
** Madrid–Ferrol, via Segovia, Medina del Campo, Zamora, Sanabria, A Gudiña, Ourense, Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Betanzos and Pontedeume.
** Madrid–Gijón, via Valladolid, Palencia, León and Oviedo.
** Madrid–Huelva, via Cordoba and La Palma Del Condado.
** Madrid–Irun, via Segovia, Valladolid, Burgos, Miranda de Ebro, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Zumarraga, Tolosa and San Sebastián.
** Madrid–Logroño, via Guadalajara, Calatayud, Tudela and Calahorra
** Madrid–Lugo, via Segovia, Medina del Campo, Zamora, Sanabria, A Gudiña, Ourense, Monforte De Lemos and Sarria.
** Madrid–Cartagena, via Albacete, Hellin, Cieza, Murcia, Balsicas-mar Menor and Torre-pacheco.
** Madrid–Pamplona, via Guadalajara, Calatayud, Tudela and Tafalla.
** Madrid–Pontevedra, via Zamora, Sanabria, A Gudiña, Ourense, Santiago de Compostela and Vilagarcia De Arousa.
** Madrid–Salamanca, via Segovia and Medina del Campo.
** Madrid–Santander, via Valladolid, Palencia, Aguilar De Campoo, Reinosa and Torrelavega.
** Madrid–Santiago de Compostela, via Zamora, Sanabria, A Gudiña and Ourense.
** Madrid–Vigo, via Segovia, Medina del Campo, Zamora, Sanabria, A Gudiña, Ourense and Pontevedra.

The central hub of the AVE system is Madrid's Madrid Atocha railway station, Puerta de Atocha, except for the Madrid–León high-speed rail line, Madrid–León, Madrid–Burgos, Madrid–Galicia high-speed rail line, Madrid–Galicia and Madrid–Alicante lines, that terminate at Madrid Chamartín railway station, Chamartín station.

Trains

Currently, there are several series of high-speed trains that run the AVE service:
*AVE Class 100, S/100, manufactured by Alstom
*AVE Class 102, S/102, manufactured by Talgo and Bombardier Transportation, Bombardier
*AVE Class 103, S/103, manufactured by Siemens, marketed globally under the brand Siemens Velaro
*AVE Class 112, S/112, manufactured by Talgo and Bombardier
There are also other series of trains that are considered high-speed, but do not run under the AVE name. They run under the brand Alvia and #AVANT, Avant, and are variable gauge trains. They can run on high-speed lines at a maximum of , and can also change between standard- and Iberian-gauge lines without stopping. The trains that are operated under the Alvia and Avant brand are:
*:es:Serie 104 de Renfe, Avant S-104, manufactured by Alstom and Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, CAF
*:es:Serie 114 de Renfe, Avant S-114, manufactured by Alstom and Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, CAF
*RENFE Class 120 / 121, Avant S-121, manufactured by Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, CAF and Alstom
*RENFE Class 120 / 121, Alvia S-120, manufactured by Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, CAF and Alstom
*RENFE Class 130, Alvia S-130, manufactured by Talgo and Bombardier
*RENFE Class 730, Alvia S-730, manufactured by Talgo and Bombardier

File:AVE in spain.jpg, A Talgo, Talgo 350 train (Renfe Class 102) at Atocha railway station, Madrid Atocha station.
File:Talgo 350.jpg, AVE train Talgo 350 (Renfe Class 102)
File:AVE a Lleida.jpg, Talgo, Talgo 350 train (Renfe Class 102) at Lleida Pirineus station
File:Renfe clase 100.JPG, AVE "Alstom"(Renfe Class 100) trainset at Córdoba.
File:RENFE AVE Velaro 2013.jpg, A RENFE AVE S/103 (Siemens Velaro E) at Figueres Vilafant railway station in 2013.

Lines in operation

Currently there are five corridors with twelve main lines in operation, and two spur lines connecting the cities of Toledo with the Madrid–Seville main line and Huesca with the Madrid–Barcelona main line.

North-western corridor

Madrid–Galicia

The Madrid–Galicia high-speed rail line connects the city of Madrid with the region of Galicia and the Atlantic Axis high-speed rail line in the North West of Spain via Segovia, Zamora, Puebla de Sanabria, Ourense and Santiago de Compostela. The line includes a new 424 km long high-speed railway section that starts at Olmedo, Spain, Olmedo 130 km to the north of Madrid on the Madrid–Leon high-speed rail line and ends at Santiago de Compostela. It was put in AVE service on 21 December 2021.

AVE trains run between Madrid and Ourense with a maximum operating speed of 300 km/h and cover the distance in 2h 15min, whilst Alvia services in the line on class RENFE Class 130, 130 and 730 gauge-changing trains with a commercial speed of 250km/h, connect Madrid to Santiago de Compostela, Pontevedra, Vigo, Lugo, La Coruña and Ferrol, Spain, Ferrol. Meanwhile certification is ongoing for the first gauge-changing Talgo AVRIL trains to operate at 330km/h in order journey times to be further reduced by 20 minutes between Madrid and Galicia. Part of the line up to Medina del Campo is also used for the Alvia Madrid–Salamanca service.

The Atlantic Axis

The Atlantic Axis high-speed rail line, Atlantic Axis high-speed railway line is connecting the two main cities of Vigo and A Coruña (Corunna) via Santiago de Compostela in the northwestern Spanish region of Galicia. The railway, 155.6 km in length, is an upgrade of the former non electrified single railway line between the town of Ferrol, Galicia, Ferrol and the Portuguese border for the part between A Coruña and Vigo, into a double electrified high-speed line. The new rebuilt railway permits mixed use traffic with a maximum design speed of 250 km/h for passenger trains.

The line is served by S/120, Alvia S-121 or S-730 (max speed ) train-sets for the routes between A Coruña and Vigo and between A Coruña and Ourense and by Alvia S-730 (''Patito'', max speed ) train-sets connecting Galicia with other Spanish regions. The line is connected at Santiago de Compostela with the Madrid–Galicia high-speed rail line.

North corridor

Madrid–León

The Madrid–Leon high-speed rail line connects Madrid with León, Spain, León passing the cities of Segovia, Valladolid and Palencia. The line supports the longest railway tunnel in Spain at 28 km in length and is served by up to two AVE Class 102, S-102 (''Pato'', max speed ) trains per day with the fastest schedule lasting 2 hours and 6 minutes. Other trainsets used on the Madrid–Leon line include RENFE Class 120, S-120 (max speed ) and RENFE Class 130, S-130 (''Patito'', max speed ) for the Alvia services.

Madrid–Burgos

The Madrid–Burgos high-speed rail line connects Madrid with Burgos. The line shares a common section with the Madrid–Leon high-speed rail line up to Venta de Baños and then includes a 86.5 km long spur line up to the city of Burgos. AVE Class 112, S-112 trains are used for the AVE Madrid–Burgos service and cover the distance in 1 hour and 33 minutes by making one stop in the city of Valladolid. By January 2023 a new AVE service between Burgos and Valencia is planned to connect the two cities in 3 hour and 30 minutes.

North-eastern corridor

Madrid–Barcelona

Madrid–Barcelona high-speed rail line, Madrid–Barcelona high-speed railway line connects Madrid with Barcelona in the north east of Spain passing through the cities of Guadalajara, Calatayud, Zaragoza (Saragossa), Lleida (Lérida) 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 two and a half hours for the direct trains using the route avoiding entering Zaragoza (Saragossa) and Lleida (Lérida). The line is served by AVE Class 103, S-103 (max speed ) trains. Seventeen trains run now every day between 6:00 and 21:00 hrs. Direct trains Barcelona–Seville and Barcelona–Malaga that do not make a stop in Madrid are also scheduled combining the Madrid–Barcelona line with one of the southern corridor's existing lines. AVE Class 112, S-112 (''Pato'', max speed ) trains are used for these services and cover these distances in less than 6 hours.

Barcelona–Perpignan (France)

The international high-speed section across the border, Perpignan–Figueres (44.4 km), of the Perpignan–Barcelona high-speed rail line opened in December 2010. Since then, French TGV trains operate from Paris. The Spanish high-speed section Barcelona–Figueres opened on 7 January 2013. Nine Spanish services initially serviced the line, with 8 being a through service to Madrid, which also connected with two French TGV services from Paris. Previously French TGV services connected Paris and Barcelona by means of a shuttle train on the standard Barcelona–Figueres line. Direct Barcelona-Paris, Madrid-Marseille, Barcelona-Lyon and Barcelona-Toulouse high-speed trains between France and Spain started on 15 December 2013.

Madrid–Huesca

The Zaragoza–Huesca section branches off from the Madrid–Barcelona line at Zaragoza and connects with the city of Huesca and serves the connection train station for regional trains in the town of Tardienta. The line first put in operation in 2005 and is served by up to two AVE Class 102, S-102 (''Pato'', max speed ) trains per day with the fastest train journey between the two cities lasting 2 hours and 5 minutes.

Eastern corridor

Madrid–Castellón

The Madrid–Castellón line connects the city of Castellón with the city of Madrid passing through the cities of Cuenca, Requena-Utiel and Valencia. The section It is serviced by AVE Class 112, S-112 (''Pato'', max speed ) trains, assembled by the Talgo-Bombardier consortium. Direct trains to Valencia cover the 391 km in 98 minutes while thirty trains run every day between 05:00 and 21:00, fifteen in each direction. For the service Madrid–Castellón AVE trains cover the distance in 2 hours and 25 minutes and 4 trains per day are scheduled, two in each direction. The line is part of the Madrid–Levante high-speed rail network, Madrid–Levante network (see below). Direct trains Valencia–Seville that do not make a stop in Madrid are also scheduled combining the existing lines of Madrid–Castellón and Madrid-Seville. AVE Class 102, S-102 (''Pato'', max speed ) trains are used for this service and cover the whole distance in 3 hours and 50 minutes.

Madrid–Alicante

A 350 km/h line branches off from the Madrid–Castellón Line and connects the city of Alicante with the city of Madrid passing through the cities of Cuenca, Albacete and Villena. It is part of the Madrid–Levante high-speed rail network, Madrid–Levante HSR network and is serviced by AVE Class 112, S-112 (''Pato'', max speed ) trains that cover the distance in up to 2 hours and 12 minutes. Direct trains Toledo–Albacete were also scheduled in the past, combining four of the existing lines, but this service was eventually terminated due to low demand.

Madrid–Orihuela

Branching out from the Madrid–Alicante Line at Monforte del Cid to extend the network towards Murcia, the first AVE service to Orihuela was inaugurated on 1 February 2021. The branch links Albacete, Elche

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