The Madrid–León high-speed rail line (

Spanish language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a world language, global language with more than 500 millio ...

: ''Línea de Alta Velocidad Madrid - León'') was inaugurated on 29 September 2015. The line is built to

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...

and

gauge changer A variable gauge system allows railway vehicles in a train to travel across a break of gauge between two railway networks with different track gauges. For through operation, a train must be equipped with special bogies holding variable gauge wh ...

s are provided at strategic points to allow interchange with older Spanish

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

s which were built to

Iberian gauge Iberian gauge ( es, ancho ibérico, trocha ibérica, pt, bitola ibérica) is a track gauge of , most extensively used by the railways of Spain and Portugal. This is the second-widest gauge in regular use anywhere in the world. The Indian gauge, , ...

History

The line was inaugurated in two stages. Its first 179.6 km section

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

Segovia Segovia ( , , ) is a city in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Segovia. Segovia is in the Inner Plateau (''Meseta central''), near the northern slopes of th ...

Valladolid Valladolid () is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province o ...

opened for commercial service on 23 December 2007 and is the first instalment of a

high-speed rail High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail system that runs significantly faster than traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, lines ...

corridor in the north and northwest of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

AVE ''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 s ...

services reduced journey times between Madrid and Valladolid from 2½ hours to 56 minutes at an average speed of . The second 162.7 km section

Venta de Baños Venta de Baños is a small town and municipality of about 6,400 inhabitants located in the Cerrato district of the province of Palencia, part of the autonomous community of Castile and León in central Spain. It lies some 10 km south of the ...

- León opened on 29 September 2015 and was built at a cost of €1,62bn for operation at up to 350 km/h. Since then the journey time between Madrid and León was cut by 44 min to 2 h 6 min on AVE trains.

Plan for 2015-2020

According to this, the line will be extended to reach the region of

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in nor ...

and will connect the cities of

Oviedo Oviedo (; ast, Uviéu ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains the city. Oviedo is located ap ...

and

Gijón Gijón () or () is a city and municipality in north-western Spain. It is the largest city and municipality by population in the autonomous community of Asturias. It is located on the coast of the Cantabrian Sea in the Bay of Biscay, in the cent ...

to the high-speed network via the

Pajares Base Tunnel The Pajares Base Tunnel is a twin pair of railway tunnels beneath the Puerto de Pajares pass in the Cantabrian Mountains, Spain. Once completed, the length tunnel will form a key portion of the high-speed rail line between Valladolid and Gijón, ...

(''Variante de Pajares''). The line will be connected with the following other HSR (

High-speed rail High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail system that runs significantly faster than traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, lines ...

) lines: *

Madrid–Galicia high-speed rail line The Madrid–Galicia high-speed rail line is a high-speed railway line in Spain that links the city of Madrid with the region of Galicia via the cities of Olmedo, Zamora, Ourense and Santiago de Compostela. The line also connects the Atlantic ...

, and this in turn with the

Atlantic Axis high-speed rail line The Atlantic Axis high-speed rail line, also called Atlantic Corridor high-speed rail line, is a high-speed railway line that links A Coruña, Santiago de Compostela, Pontevedra and Vigo in Spain. The Atlantic Axis was inaugurated in April 2015. ...

* HSR Valladolid -

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of t ...

Vitoria Vitoria or Vitória may refer to : People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Steven Vitória (b ...

, and this in turn to the future HSR

Logroño Logroño () is the capital of the province of La Rioja, situated in northern Spain. Traversed in its northern part by the Ebro River, Logroño has historically been a place of passage, such as the Camino de Santiago. Its borders were disputed b ...

Miranda de Ebro Miranda de Ebro (Spanish: iˈɾan̪da ðe ˈeβɾo is a city on the Ebro river in the Burgos (province), province of Burgos in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is located in the north-eastern part of the province, on th ...

and the HSR

Basque Y Basque Y is the high-speed rail network being built between the three cities of the Basque Autonomous Community, in Spain; Bilbao, Vitoria-Gasteiz and Donostia-San Sebastián. Route It will transport cargo and passengers. The cargo trains ...

. * Other high-speed lines departing from Madrid, with the future construction of a third tunnel with standard gauge tracks between Chamartin and Atocha stations.

Features

This line is constructed for trains running at up to .

ERTMS The European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) is the system of standards for management and interoperation of signalling for railways by the European Union (EU). It is conducted by the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) and is the o ...

type II signaling and ASFA digital diversion clearance of and a reduction of over (28%) compared to the general layout of the Northern or Imperial Line, due to the tunnels of San Pedro and

Guadarrama Guadarrama is a town and municipality in the Cuenca del Guadarrama comarca, in the Community of Madrid, Spain. Its population is 13,032 (winter, according to a 2006 census); the population swells to approximately 60,000 in summer. Its name co ...

through

Sierra de Guadarrama The Sierra de Guadarrama (Guadarrama Mountains) is a mountain range forming the main eastern section of the Sistema Central, the system of mountain ranges along the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. It is located between the systems Sierra de G ...

, 9 and 28 km respectively. In the section between Valladolid and León the route comprises 78,7 km of double track and two single-track sections totalling 84 km.

Gauge changer A variable gauge system allows railway vehicles in a train to travel across a break of gauge between two railway networks with different track gauges. For through operation, a train must be equipped with special bogies holding variable gauge wh ...

s are installed at Chamartin Valdestillas, Valladolid, León and Villamuriel south of

Palencia Palencia () is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Palencia. Located in the Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, in the northern half o ...

and this has reduced travel times on all routes between

and Spain's north-northwest.

Route

(The figures indicate kilometres from Madrid)
* Gauge changer * 345.450 León AV (166,141 km from Valladolid Campo Grande) * 344.277 Junction Estadio Municipal * 343.879 Classification changer * 339.527 Vilecha changer * 338.245 Junction Vilecha * 320.332 PCA Luengos * 297.591 Junction Las Arenas * 276.537 Villada AV maintenance center * 259.999 Junction Las Barreras * 244.212 PCA Becerril * 231.315 Level crossing Los Tres Pasos * 230.627 Palencia * 224.754 Villamuriel changer * 223.530 Junction Cerrato AV * 222.699 Desvío 10 of the Junction Cerrato * 217.578 Junction Venta de Baños AV * 208.447 Crossover Dueñas AV * 198.097 PCA Valoria * 187.360 Junction Las Pajareras * 186.283 Junction Canal del Duero * 181.241 Level crossing La Pilarica * 179.6 Valladolid-Campo Grande * 173.1 Level crossing (Pinar de Antequera) * 168.0 Rio Duero * conventional line Madrid-Irun (Gauge changer) * 159.6 Valdestillas / Transition double track to single track * 144.0 Conventional Line Madrid-Irun * Future link L.A.V. Olmedo-Zamora-Galicia (in draft) * Link L.A.V. Olmedo-Zamora-Galicia * Intersection with N-601 * 133.0 Olmedo * 106.6 Nava de la Asunción * 97.1 to 94.4 Tabladillo Tunnel * 86.0 Garcillán * 72.5 to 70.7 Puentecilla Tunnel * Conventional Line Intersection with Villa * 68.3 Segovia Guiomar * 66.2 to 37.5 Guadarrama Tunnels * 35.5 Soto del Real * Junction with conventional line Madrid-Burgos * 32.9 Arroyo Valley Viaduct * 32.1 to 23.2 tunnels of Cerro de San Pedro * Junction with conventional line Madrid-Burgos * 18.9 Trivialization Post Tres Cantos * Junction with conventional line Madrid-Burgos * Line Conv. Madrid-Alcobendas/S.S. de los Reyes * Fuencarral maintenance center * Intersection with link-Hortaleza Pitis * Intersection with link-Hortaleza Chamartin * Link to Chamartin Iberian gauge (width changer) * Madrid-Chamartin 0.50 * End of Line (future AV tunnel-Chamartin Atocha)

Key facts

* Inauguration: 22 December 2007 for the section Madrid–Valladolid (entry into service the next day). 29 September 2015 for the section Valladolid–León. * Approximate cost: 4,205 million

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

for the section Madrid–Valladolid (about 700 M € are for the reform of the RAF of Valladolid). 1,620 million

for the section Valladolid–León. * Tender: commissioned by the Government to GIF (today ADIF) in 1998. * Intermediate stations: Segovia Guiomar (kilometre post 68.3), Valladolid, Venta de Baños. * At kilometre post 133.8 there is a junction for the 2021-completed

, negotiable at up to 220 km/h.

Technical details

* Length 179.6 km Madrid–Valladolid + 162.7 km Valladolid–León * Total length in tunnels 42,1 km * Total length on viaducts 2 km * UIC gauge () * Electrification 25 kV 50 Hz AC * Maximum speed 350 km/h * Digital Signage ASFA and ERTMS II * Platform width 16 m * PAET 3 (Soto del Real, Garcillán and Olmedo) * PB 3 (Tres Cantos, Nava, Valdestillas) * Gauge Changers 3 (Madrid Chamartin, Valdestillas, Valladolid) PB = Puesto de Banalización (transition from double to single track?)
PAET = Puesto de Adelantamiento y Estacionamiento de Trenes (passing loop?)

Special projects

* Guadarrama Tunnel (28,377 m) * Tunnels of San Pedro (8,930 m) * Arroyo Valley Viaduct (1,796 m, maximum height 77.8 m) * Tabladillo tunnel (2 km) * Puentecilla Tunnel (1900 m) * Tunel del Pinar de Antequera (1 km) (opening 8 November 2009)

Reduced travel times

Talgo Talgo (officially Patentes Talgo, SAU) is a Spanish manufacturer of intercity, standard, and high-speed passenger trains. Corporate history TALGO, an abbreviation of Tren Articulado Ligero Goicoechea Oriol (English: ''Lightweight articulated tra ...

trains were replaced by

Alvia Alvia is a high-speed train service in Spain used by Renfe Operadora for long-distance service with a top speed of . The trains have the ability to use both Iberian gauge and standard gauge, which allows them to travel on the recently constructed ...

trains (RENFE Class 130) and these operate on both the high-speed line and the older lines. These trains pass through the

s at

and

Valdestillas Valdestillas is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2008 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 1,818 inhabitants. See also *Cuisine of the province of Valladolid ...

or to join the General Line North from this high speed line and back by reducing their travel time by reducing the distance and increasing the commercial speed in the stretch Madrid–Valladolid. The Talgo Madrid-Galicia was diverted later by LAV circulating until Valdestillas changer, which reverses the direction of travel and change of locomotive. In this case the time reduction has been lower, only 15-20 min, while in the Galicia-Madrid train has been an advantage to using the best line to be able to recover the backlog.

Services that use these lines

*AVE Chamartin Madrid–Segovia–Valladolid, Campo Grande–Palencia–Léon at 2:13 S-102 *AVE Chamartin Madrid–Valladolid, Campo Grande–Palencia–Léon at 2:06 S-102 *Avant-Chamartin Madrid-Segovia Guiomar 0:35 nonstop S121 *Avant Valladolid to Madrid Chamartin station at 1:10 Segovia Guiomar S121 *Alvia Madrid-Chamartin Hendaye Segovia Guiomar *Valladolid-Campo Grande *Burgos *Miranda de Ebro *Vitoria-Gasteiz *Alsasua *San Sebastian *Irun S130 gauge change in Valladolid / Valdestillas *Alvia Bilbao-Madrid-Chamartin Abando Segovia Guiomar *Valladolid-Campo Grande *Burgos S130 gauge change in Valladolid / Valdestillas *Alvia Madrid-Chamartin Santander Segovia Guiomar *Valladolid-Campo Grande *Palencia *Aguilar de Campóo *Reinosa *Torrelavega S130 gauge change in Valladolid / Valdestillas **1 train per day each direction continues its journey to Alicante *Alvia Madrid-Chamartin Gijón-suburban Segovia Guiomar *Valladolid-Campo Grande *Palencia *Sahagun *Léon *Mieres-Puente *Oviedo *Jovellanos Gijón S130-wide change in Valladolid / Valdestillas **1 train per day each direction continues its journey to Alicante *Talgo Madrid-Chamartin La Coruna Segovia Guiomar *Medina del Campo *Zamora *Puebla de Sanabria *The Gudiña *Orense-Joint *Carballiño *Santiago de Compostela Talgo VI gauge change in Valdestillas *Talgo Madrid-Chamartin Pontevedra (*) *Guillarei *Redondela *Vigo Talgo VI (*) circulates together with the branch of La Coruna to Orense **gauge change in Valdestillas

Speed

The maximum permissible speed in line with ERTMS II in service are shown below. Note that trains are permitted to move at a maximum of over of the line.

References

Article in Ferropedia
* Construction of the LAV dossier SkyscraperCity * Construction of the LAV-2 dossier SkyscraperCity * Construction of the LAV, thread 1 tranvia.org * Construction of the LAV, thread 2 tranvia.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Madrid-Valladolid high-speed rail line Transport in Castile and León Rail transport in Madrid High-speed railway lines in Spain Standard gauge railways in Spain Railway lines opened in 2007