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 2004 was 14,781 km (8,791 km electrified):[1]
- broad gauge (1668 mm): 11,829 km (6,950 km electrified at 3 kV DC)
- standard gauge (1435 mm): 998 km (all electrified at 25 kV AC)
- narrow gauge (1000 mm): 1,926 km (815 km electrified)
- narrow gauge (914 mm): 28 km (all electrified)
Most railways are operated by RENFE; narrow-gauge lines are operated by FEVE and other carriers in individual autonomous communities. It is proposed to build or convert more standard-gauge lines, including some dual gauging of broad-gauge lines, especially where these lines link to adjacent countries.
History
Development
During the 19th century Spain was one of the poorest and least economically developed countries in Western Europe, and was also politically unstable. Railways were therefore relatively late to appear. The first line to be built in the Peninsula was a short link from Barcelona to Mataró opened in 1848, although by that date a line was already working in Cuba - then part of the Spanish empire. It was not until laws were passed in the 1850s making railway investment more attractive to foreign capital, that railway building on a large scale began.
One major misfortune was the decision, taken at an early stage, that Spain's railways should be built to an unusual broad track gauge of 1674 mm (roughly 5ft 6in, or six Castilian feet). The choice of gauge was influenced by Spain's hostility to neighbouring France during the 1850s: it was believed that making the Spanish railway network incompatible with that of France would hinder any French invasion. As a result, Portuguese railways were also built to a broad gauge.
This unfortunate political decision came to be regretted by future generations, as it hindered international trade, and also made railway construction more expensive. Owing to the expense of building broad-gauge lines, a large system of narrow gauge railways was built in the poorer parts of Spain, especially in the north-west of the country.
The main-line network was roughly complete by the 1870s. Because of Spain's (until recently) relative lack of economic development, the Spanish railway network never became as extensive as those of most other European countries. For instance, in terms of land area Spain is about 2.5 times the size of Great Britain but its railway network is about 3,000 km (1,900 miles) smaller.
Civil War
During the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s the railway network was extensively damaged. Immediately after the war the Franco regime nationalized the broad gauge network, and in 1941 RENFE was formed. Narrow gauge lines were nationalized in the 1950s, later being grouped to form FEVE.
It took many years for the railway system to recover from the war; during the 1950s it was common to see intercity express trains hauled by 100-year-old steam locomotives on poor worn-out track. In spite of this, innovators like Goicoechea created advanced trains like the Talgo and the TER. Only with the disappearance of the Franco regime in 1975, and Spain's emergence from international isolation, did the Spanish railway network begin to modernize and catch up with the rest of Europe.
Post Franco
Following the decentralization of Spain after 1978, those narrow gauge lines which did not cross the limits of autonomous communities of Spain were taken out of the control of FEVE and transferred to the regional governments, which formed, amongst others, Eusko Trenbideak and Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya. Madrid (Madrid Metro), Barcelona, Valencia and Bilbao (Metro Bilbao) all have autonomous subway services.
The Railway Sector Act of 2003 separated the management, maintenance and construction of rail infrastructure from train operation. The first activity is now the responsibility of a new public company, Administrador de Infrestructuras Ferroviarias (ADIF), while Renfe (full name: Renfe Operadora) owns the rolling-stock and remains responsible for the planning, marketing and operation of passenger and freight services (though no longer with a legal monopoly).
In recent years Spain's railways have received very heavy investment, much of it coming from the European Union. Most recently a standard gauge high-speed rail line (AVE) has been built between Madrid and Seville. In 2003 high-speed service was inaugurated on a new line from Madrid to Lleida and extended to Barcelona in 2008. It is being extented onwards via an international tunnel beneath the Pyrenees to Perpignan where it will link up with the French TGV high-speed system. Delays on the part of the French government in authorizing construction on its side of the border have held up Spanish plans to some extent, however. Further high-speed links are under construction from Madrid to Valladolid, from Córdoba to Málaga and from Seville to Cadiz, and new lines are planned to Valencia and to Lisbon.
Spanish railways have been a target of sabotage and attacks by ETA, and once by Al-Qaeda, in March 11, 2004 Madrid attacks.
Design legacy and future challenges
There's a need for better design of coaches with passenger comfort in mind. Some of the key areas that have to be considered are:
- Thermal Dynamics of the passenger areas
- Spain being a large country with wide range of temperature zones, means that a train (and the passengers) have to travel through varied temperature. On the hot plains areas, (some current) coaches with air-conditioner situated at the bottom of 6-person bunk rooms means that the top 2 bunks can get uncomfortably warm.
- User interface of user controls. Need to have a better design of controls like thermostat, lights, audio/visual and internet connectivity.
- Ergonomics: of seats and beds.
Operators
- Renfe Operadora is the state-owned company which operates freight and passenger trains on the 1668-mm "Iberian gauge" and 1435-mm "European gauge" networks of the Spanish national railway infrastructure company ADIF (Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias).
- FEVE (Ferrocarriles Españoles de Vía Estrecha, meaning "Narrow-Gauge Spanish Railways") is a state-owned Spanish railway company, which operates most of Spain's 1,250 km (775 miles) of metre gauge railway.
- EuskoTren (Eusko Trenbideak / Ferrocarriles Vascos – Basque Railways) operates trains on part of the narrow gauge railway network in the Basque Country.
- Ferrocarril de Sóller or FS operates an electrified 914 mm narrow gauge railway on the Spanish island of Majorca, between the towns of Palma and Sóller.
- Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca or SFM operates the metre gauge railway network on the Spanish island of Majorca.
- Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana or FGV operates several metre gauge lines, in the Autonomous Community of Valencia.
- Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan Government Railways), or FGC operates several unconnected lines in Catalonia, Spain. It operates 140 km (88 miles) of metre gauge, 42 km (24 miles) of standard gauge, and 89 km (56 miles) of broad gauge route, two metre gauge rack railways and four funicular railways.
Metro/light rail systems
- Alicante (Alicante Tram)
- Barcelona (Barcelona Metro/Barcelona Tram)
- Bilbao (Bilbao Metro/Bilbao Tram)
- Madrid (Madrid Metro)
- Valencia (Valencia Metro)
- Malaga (Malaga Metro) under construction
- Granada (Granada Tram) under construction
- Palma de Mallorca
- Vitoria-Gasteiz (Vitoria-Gasteiz tram) under construction
- Seville (Seville Metro) under construction
- Parla (Parla Tram or VíaParla)
- Vélez-Málaga under construction due to open September 2006
Links with adjacent countries
Andorra - no
France - yes - break-of-gauge 1668mm/1435mm (new high-speed lines will link without any break-of-gauge)
Portugal - yes
Morocco - no - proposed undersea tunnel.
