AVE
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For other uses, see AVE (disambiguation).
AVE, an acronym for Alta Velocidad Española (literally, "Spanish High Speed" but ave also meaning "bird" in Spanish) is a high speed train that can achieve speeds of up to 300 km/h on dedicated track.
Unlike the rest of the Spanish broad-gauge network, the AVE uses standard gauge, permitting direct connections outside Spain in the future. All AVE trains are currently operated by RENFE, the Spanish state railway company, although it is possible that private companies may be allowed to run lines in the future.
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[edit] History
The AVE commenced service between Madrid and Sevilla on 21 April 1992, a distance of 471 km, with a travel time of 2.5 hours.
It has been suggested that the PSOE government chose the French Alstom bid over the Siemens and Talgo bids for political rather than technical reasons, rewarding the French government for its assistance in capturing ETA activists who took "sanctuary" across the border in Southern France. Sevilla's hosting of the 1992 World's Fair prompted its choice for the inaugural AVE line, but there were also accusations that the Spanish head of government Felipe González favoured his home city. Sevilla is the fourth biggest city in Spain, after Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia, with a population of some 700,000.
The service guarantees arrival within 5 minutes of the advertised time, and offers a full refund if the train is delayed further, although only 0.16% of trains have been so. In this regard, the punctuality of the AVE is exceptional compared to other non long distance RENFE services, and indeed even compared to the French TGV system.
The high speed of the train link combined with high property prices in Madrid has encouraged many Madrid commuters to settle in Ciudad Real, the first stop on the Madrid-Sevilla line.
[edit] Construction and current development
Construction of a high-speed line connecting Madrid and Barcelona is underway, with the initial section from Madrid to Lleida, via Zaragoza, opening on 11 October 2003. Completion of the line is planned for 2008, with the line reaching Tarragona in 2006. When completed, the Madrid-Barcelona line should be one of the world's fastest long-distance train in commercial operation, with trains billed to reach a top speed of 350 km/h and covering the 600 km between the two cities in 2.5 hours.
Although until 2005 both Siemens and Talgo/Bombardier train sets have consistently failed to meet scheduled speed targets, in a test run during the homologation tests of the new S102 trains of Renfe, a train-set Talgo 350 (AVE S-102) reached the speed of 365 km/h on the night of the 25th to the 26th of June, and on August 2006 a train-set Siemens (AVE S-103) reached the highest top speed ever in Spain: 403,7 km/h. AVE trains in Madrid-Lérida line have begun to operate at 250 km/h on May 19, 2006. RENFE claim that by the end of 2006 it should be running at 280 km/h.
In this context, one should note the highly critical report by the consulting firm KPMG. The report was commissioned by ADIF (Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias) at the behest of the Ministry for Public Works (Ministerio de Fomento) on June 23, 2004. KPMG's experts pointed to the lack of in-depth studies and over-hasty execution of works as the reasons underlying the major problems dogging construction of the AVE line.
It is forecast that the AVE will substantially replace air traffic on the Barcelona - Madrid route (in the same way that the Eurostar has on the London-Paris/London-Brussels routes and France's TGV has on the Paris-Lyon route). In fact, more than 80% of travellers between Madrid and Sevilla use the AVE, and only less than 20% the airplane.
Construction of a segment to Valladolid, extension of the Sevilla line to Málaga, as well as similar extensions of the system to Valencia and Alicante are also underway. Connection to the French TGV network is also planned, at either La Jonquera in Catalonia or Irun in the Basque Country. Further expansions to Galicia, the Basque Country (including the so-called Basque "Y" connecting the capitals of the three Basque provinces) and Portugal may eventually be built.
[edit] Spanish government's ambitions
The Spanish government has an ambitious plan to have 7,000 km of high-speed rail operational by 2010, with all provincial capitals at most only 4 hours from Madrid, and 6.5 hours from Barcelona. Critics of this scheme point out that raising the average speed of Spain's regional trains would achieve a much greater global impact at much less cost. At present, there are some rural lines where average speeds barely exceed 60 km/h. The speed between some provincial capitals is little better; for example, it takes some 9h30min to cover the 784 km between León and Barcelona.
On the other hand there has been a great improvement of speed and time with trains that link Madrid with other capitals that do not have direct AVE connections, but that use the high speed line for most of the route, such as Huelva (4h50min), Cádiz (4h55min), Pamplona (3h30min) and Logroño (3h40min).
The construction of the high speed Madrid-Barcelona line encountered unforeseen geological problems, with the result that trains are not currently running at their full speed between Madrid and Lleida. Geologists have been particularly critical of the stretches built on weak clays in Aragon and large pits have appeared near the track. This latest AVE project has been plagued by major failures regarding signalling equipment, train speeds, and tunnel design. More recently, plans to build a shallow AVE tunnel under the fragile foundations of Barcelona's 19th century city centre instead of by a low-impact coastal route have incensed some 50,000 residents, threatening Barcelona's ex-mayor Joan Clos' political future as a result.
[edit] Lines
Currently, seven lines make up the AVE system:
- AVE Larga Distancia (long distance) Madrid–Sevilla (Madrid, Ciudad Real, Puertollano, Córdoba, Sevilla)
- AVE Larga Distancia Madrid–Zaragoza–Lleida (Madrid, Guadalajara, Calatayud, Zaragoza, Lleida)
- AVE Larga Distancia Madrid–Zaragoza–Huesca (Madrid, Guadalajara, Calatayud, Zaragoza, Huesca)
- AVE Lanzadera (shuttle) Madrid–Puertollano (Madrid, Ciudad Real, Puertollano)
- Talgo 200 Madrid-Málaga (Madrid, Ciudad Real, Puertollano, Córdoba, Málaga
- AV Media Distancia (Mid distance) Madrid–Toledo.
- AV Media Distancia (Mid distance) Córdoba–Sevilla.
The central hub of the system is Madrid's Puerta de Atocha station.
[edit] External links
| High-speed trains |  |
|---|---|
| Acela Express • AVE • Eurostar • InterCityExpress • JR-Maglev MLX01 • HST • Korea Train Express • Magnetic levitation trains • Pendolino • Shinkansen • TGV • Thalys • THSR • Transrapid • Treno Alta Velocità • X 2000 |
