gauge
Gauge ( or ) may refer to:
Measurement
* Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments
* Gauge (firearms)
* Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire
** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, ...
of the national railway in Spain, now managed by Adif, is , known as
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, , ...
. This gauge (originally 1,674mm but then reduced slightly to allow interoperability with
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
) was decided upon by a Parliamentary committee, after a report known as the Informe Subercase (named for its principal author) in 1844. Spain has 11,791 km of track with this gauge.
Since 1992, all high-speed rail lines in Spain have been built to standard gauge, providing direct connections without break-of-gauge with the French railway system. The high speed line that was projected to run from Madrid to Lisbon was also to have been built at this gauge.
A large metre gauge network also exists in the north of the country, linking
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 community in northwest Spain.
It is coextensiv ...
. Some isolated metre-gauge railways also exist in
Murcia
Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...
,
Catalonia
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy.
Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...
and the
Valencian Community
The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wi ...
. This was previously operated by
FEVE
Renfe Feve is a division of state-owned Spanish railway company Renfe Operadora. It operates most of Spain's of railway. This division of Renfe was previously a stand-alone company named FEVE (Ferrocarriles de Vía Estrecha,Law 11/1965 of ...
(Ferrocarriles de Via Estrecha, ''Narrow Gauge Railways''), but was taken over by RENFE in 2012.
The Madrid Metro is built to a gauge of 1,445mm, slightly wider than standard gauge.
The
Barcelona Metro
The Barcelona Metro (Catalan and Spanish: ) is an extensive network of rapid transit electrified railway lines that run mostly underground in central Barcelona and into the city's suburbs. It is part of the larger public transport s ...
is built to standard gauge, except line 1, which was designed for through running of trains from the national network.
Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya
Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (, "Catalan Government Railways"), or FGC, is a railway company which operates several unconnected lines in Catalonia, Spain.
The lines operated include metro and commuter lines in and around the city o ...
La Pobla de Segur
La Pobla de Segur is a municipality located in the comarca of Pallars Jussà, province of Lleida, Catalonia, in northern Spain. According to the 2013 census ( INE), the town has a population of 3,073 inhabitants. It is situated at the confluence ...
(formerly owned by RENFE, transferred in 2005)
*
Barcelona metro line 1
Line 1, shortened to L1, coloured red and often simply called ''Línia vermella'' ("Red Line"), is the second oldest Barcelona Metro line, after line Barcelona Metro line 3, L3. It is the longest line of the Barcelona Metro, and links L'Hospita ...
(this line is still built to the original gauge of 1,674mm, within engineering tolerances)
Standard gauge (1,435mm)
* High-speed lines (LAVs) belonging to Adif
** Madrid – Córdoba – Seville/Málaga
** Madrid – Toledo
** Madrid – Zaragoza – Barcelona – French border
** Madrid – Valencia – Alicante/Alacant
** Madrid – Valladolid – Leon
* Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya – lines from Barcelona to
Terrassa
Terrassa (, es, Tarrasa) is a city in the east central region of Catalonia, Spain, in the province of Barcelona, '' comarca'' of Vallès Occidental, of which it is the co-capital along with Sabadell.
The name ''Terrassa'' derives from Latin ...
Barcelona metro
The Barcelona Metro (Catalan and Spanish: ) is an extensive network of rapid transit electrified railway lines that run mostly underground in central Barcelona and into the city's suburbs. It is part of the larger public transport s ...
(all lines except line 1)
Metre gauge (1,000mm)
* Lines formerly belonging to
FEVE
Renfe Feve is a division of state-owned Spanish railway company Renfe Operadora. It operates most of Spain's of railway. This division of Renfe was previously a stand-alone company named FEVE (Ferrocarriles de Vía Estrecha,Law 11/1965 of ...
, including
Euskotren Trena
Euskotren Trena, formerly known just as ''Euskotren'' is a commuter, inter-city and urban transit train-operating company that operates local and inter-city passenger services in the provinces of Biscay and Gipuzkoa, in the Basque Country, ...
** Lines around Cartagena
** Lines from Ferrol and León to Bilbao, San Sebastián and Hendaye
* Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya – line from Barcelona to Manresa and
Igualada
Igualada () is a municipality in the province of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. It is located on the left bank of the Anoia River and at the western end of the Igualada-Martorell-Barcelona Railway. Igualada is the capital and central market of th ...
*
Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana
Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana (, "Valencian Government Railways") or FGV is a Valencian public railway company which operates several lines, in the autonomous community of Valencia, Spain.
The company currently operates the city me ...
– including the Valencia metro system
* RENFE – Line C-9 of Cercanías Madrid, from Cercedilla to Cotos
*
Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca
Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca () or SFM is a company which operates the metre gauge railway network on the Spanish island of Majorca. The total length, including Palma Metro, also operated by this company, is 85 km.
Overview
In 1977, t ...
Other gauges
*
Ferrocarril de Sóller
The Ferrocarril de Sóller (; en, Railway of Sóller), acronym FS, is an interurban railway and the name for the company which operates the electrified narrow gauge tracks running between the towns of Sóller and Palma on the Spanish island of M ...
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, , ...
*
Rail transport in Spain
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 2012 was 16,026 km (10,182 km electrified).
Most railways are operated by Renfe Op ...