Page 14 - Vía Libre Special - 25 Years of Spanish High Speed Rail
P. 14

SPECIAL

             years of Spanish high speed rail

                                                                 benchmark in the railway industry, developing
                       Some high speed figures                   hundreds  of  projects  both within  and  beyond  our
                                                                 borders.
                  -  Length  of  the  network  in  service:  2,919,8
                   kilometres.                                        677 trains a day and 35.2 million
                  -  Over 357.5 million passengers in 25 years.     passengers in 2016
                  -  267 million passengers in AVE and Avant          In parallel to the growth of the network built
                   services.                                     by Adif, since 1992 there has been a spectacular
                  -  90 million passengers in variable gauge services.  increase  in  the  use  of  high  speed  in  Spain,  driven
                                                                 by the commercial and service effort that Renfe has
                  -  Investment in the development of the Spanish   been making over these years.
                   high speed network to date: 51,775 million         Since the entry into service of the Spanish
                   euros.                                        high  speed  network,  the  development  of  this  rail
                  -  26 provinces are already connected to the high   transport model has achieved standards of comfort,
                   speed network, accounting for 57.9% of Spain’s   quality, reliability and safety which, like the journey
                   total surface area.                           times possible today, were unthinkable a quarter of
                                                                 a century ago. All of which ranks the Spanish railway
                  -  High speed services cover 47 stations.      system as one of the most advanced in Europe and
                  -  67.4% of the population of Spain have access to   in the world today.
                   high speed trains in their province.               Currently a daily average of 677 trains
                                                                 circulate  in the  twenty-six  provinces  connected
                  -  2016 was a record year for high speed       to the Spanish high speed network, and over 31
                   passengers: 35.2 million.                     million people are able to enjoy its benefits in the
                  -  An average of 677 trains a day circulate on the   province where they live. In 2016 Renfe’s high speed
                   network.                                      services transported an all-time record number of
                                                                 passengers; a total of 35.2 million users, 1.8 million
                                                                 more than in 2015.
                                                                      By April 21 a total of 357.5 million passengers
                     From its beginnings, Spanish high speed has   will have used the Spanish high speed network since
               been an exportable transport system in constant   its inauguration. Of these, 267 million are users of
               expansion. These last twenty-five years have also   AVE and Avant services, and nearly 90 million are
               generated a wealth of experience in technology and   users of variable gauge services. Variable gauge
               management. This has placed the Spanish railway   enables passengers to use the two types of gauge
               industry in the forefront of the world, thereby   in Spain, without changing trains, and has brought
               enhancing the competitiveness and prestige of     the benefits of high speed travel to a large number
               our companies abroad. In this last quarter century   of medium-size towns.
               Spanish  companies  have  become  an  international


                                                                A Series 100 AVE train leaving
                                                               Puerta de Atocha station, Madrid.














                                                                                                              GONZALO RUBIO









               14  Vía Libre • Special 25th Anniversary of the AVE Edition
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