Transport in Spain is characterised by an extensive network of roads, railways, rapid transit, air routes, and ports. Its geographic location makes it an important link between Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Major forms of transit generally radiate from the capital, Madrid, located in the centre of the country, to link with the capitals of the autonomous communities.
Renfe, officially Renfe-Operadora, is Spain's national state-owned railway company.
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.
Alta Velocidad Española (AVE) is a high-speed rail service operated by Renfe, the Spanish State railway company.
TGV Duplex is a French high-speed train of the TGV family, manufactured by Alstom, and operated by the French national railway company SNCF. They were the first TGV trainsets to use bi-level passenger carriages with a seating capacity of 508 passengers, increasing capacity on busy high-speed lines. While the TGV Duplex started as a small component of the TGV fleet, it has become one of the system's workhorses.
Elipsos Internacional S.A. was a Spanish company which was set up in 2001 by Spanish RENFE and French SNCF with a 50% share each. It was created to handle the logistics of Trenhotel night railway services between Spain and France, Switzerland and Italy; in 2013 only services to France remained; they were cut back to thrice a week in September 2013, and discontinued on 15 December as the high speed line between France and Spain had opened. The Elipsos Trenhotel operated with Talgo gauge change trains.
Altaria is the brand name of a group of fast long-distance passenger railway services operated by Spanish national railway company Renfe Operadora and connecting Madrid to Algeciras, Alicante, Barcelona, Cádiz, Cartagena, Granada, Irún, Logroño, Murcia, Pamplona, and San Sebastián.
The Perpignan–Barcelona high-speed line is an international high-speed rail line between France and Spain. The line consists of a 175.5-kilometre (109.1 mi) railway, of which 24.6 km (15.3 mi) are in France and 150.8 km (93.7 mi) are in Spain. It crosses the French–Spanish border via the 8.3-kilometre (5.2 mi) Perthus Tunnel bored under the Perthus Pass, connecting two cities on opposite sides of the border, Perpignan in Roussillon, France, and Figueres in Catalonia, Spain. The line extends to Barcelona, and this part is sometimes referenced as an extension of the Madrid–Barcelona high-speed rail line. The Perpignan–Barcelona line is a part of the Mediterranean Corridor.
High-speed railways in Spain are in operation since 1992 when the first line was opened connecting the cities of Madrid, Córdoba and Seville. Unlike the rest of the Iberian broad gauge network, the Spanish High-speed network mainly uses standard gauge. This permits direct connections to outside Spain through the link to the French network at the Perthus Tunnel. High-speed trains run on a network of high-speed rail track owned and managed by ADIF, where the dominant service is AVE while other high speed services such as Avant, Alvia, Avlo, Euromed, Ouigo España and Iryo, as well as mid-speed (Altaria) services also operate.
Euromed is a high-speed rail service operated by Renfe along the Spanish Mediterranean coast.
The Madrid–Barcelona high-speed rail line is a 621-kilometre (385.9 mi) standard gauge railway line inaugurated on 20 February 2008. Designed for speeds of 350 km/h (217.5 mph) and compatibility with neighbouring countries' rail systems, it connects the cities of Madrid and Barcelona in 2 hours 30 minutes. In Barcelona the line is connected with the Perpignan–Barcelona high-speed rail line leading into France which connects it to the European high speed network.
The Renfe Class 103 is a high-speed train used for the AVE service and operated in Spain by the state-run railway company RENFE. The trainset is also known as S103 or S/103.
The Renfe Class 130 or S-130 is a high-speed dual-gauge, dual-voltage trainset consisting of 11 Talgo VII tilting coaches and two power cars, used on Alvia and Euromed services. The class have been nicknamed patitos (ducklings), due to the shape of the train nose.
The Renfe Class 252 are a series of Bo'Bo' electric locomotives, built by CAF, Meinfesa, Siemens and Krauss-Maffei for RENFE. 15 units were built for the AVE Madrid–Seville high speed line in, and 60 units constructed for general use to Iberian gauge (1668mm).
The Madrid–Levante high-speed network is a network of high-speed rail lines that connects Madrid with the Mediterranean coast of the Levante Region, specifically with Castilla-La Mancha, the Valencian Community and the Murcia Region autonomous communities.
Figueres–Vilafant is a railway station serving the city of Figueres in Catalonia, Spain. It is located in the municipality of Vilafant, at about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) west from its urban center and 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) from Figueres city centre. The station is on the Perpignan–Barcelona high-speed rail line and is served by Renfe Operadora's AVE and SNCF's TGV high-speed trains.
Girona is a railway station serving the city of Girona in Catalonia, Spain. It is located in the northern part of the municipality, lying at approximately 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) southwest of the city's historical centre.
Hendaye station is a railway station in Hendaye, France, on the Bordeaux-Irun and Madrid-Hendaye lines. The station is served by TGV high speed trains, Intercités de nuit night trains, Intercités long distance and TER local services operated by the SNCF, Trenhotel and Arco services operated by RENFE, and EuskoTren services.
Avelia Euroduplex, more commonly known as just Euroduplex or TGV 2N2 in France, is a high-speed double-decker train manufactured by Alstom. It is primarily operated by the French national railway company SNCF, and also in operation with the Moroccan national railway company ONCF. It is the 3rd generation of the TGV Duplex.
Ouigo España is an open-access operator of high-speed railway services in Spain. It is a subsidiary of SNCF Voyageurs, the French national railway company, and uses its trademark Ouigo.
