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Alicante, Murcia and, soon, Valencia – construction costs). Some media stated that the average number of daily passengers was 9 between Toledo and
Albacete and 6 between Toledo and Cuenca while the daily cost was 18,000 euros, while official figures give us an average of 403–464 daily passengers. Those trains ran over existing high speed lines (the lines to Toledo, Seville and Valencia) and so the lines remain open, but passengers travelling between the cities had to change trains at Madrid. However, in 2022, as the Madrid-Cuenca-Valencia traditional railway was closed, trains between Toledo, Cuenca and Albacete have been reinstated, this time operated as Avant, catering better to the needs of passengers than the AVE trains that were operated in 2011.
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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
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during the 1850s: it was believed that making the
Spanish railway network incompatible with that of France would hinder any French invasion. Other sources state that that decision was taken to allow bigger engines that could have enough power to climb the steep passes in the second most mountainous
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announced they would suppress the three daily high-speed trains between Toledo, Cuenca and
Albacete because of lack of passengers despite an investment of 3.5 billion euros (this figure includes the full Madrid-Cuenca-Valencia high-speed railway and the Cuenca-Albacete branch – later extended to
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of the country, where narrow gauge was the most adequate option. In 2023 transport officials in RENFE in Spain resigned when it was found that narrow-gauge passenger rolling-stock ordered in 2020 for the northern regions of
Asturias and Cantabria would be too wide for the tunnels and were to be
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Railway transport was first developed in
Northern Europe during the 19th century, spurred not only by rapid economic growth, but also by landscapes favourable to railway construction. The mountainous terrain, low population density, relatively weak 19th century economic development and political
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was inaugurated, although a line in Cuba (then a
Spanish overseas province) connecting Havana and Bejucal had already opened in 1837. In 1852 the first narrow gauge line was built, in 1863 a line reached the Portuguese border. By 1864 the Madrid-Irun line had been opened, and the French border
610:
is finished on the French side, delays on the part of the French government in authorizing construction on its side of the border held up
Spanish plans to some extent, and the Spanish side will not be finished until 2012. Further high-speed links are under construction from
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The last steam locomotive was withdrawn in 1975, in 1986 the maximum speed on the railways was raised to 160 km/h (99 mph), and in 1992 the Madrid
Seville high speed line opened, beginning the process of building a nationwide high speed network.
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The decision for an
Iberian gauge would later come to hinder interoperability of rail services with France, and it also made railway construction more expensive. Apart from the widespread broad-gauge lines, a large system of
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522:('Renfe') 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).
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loading gauge width of 3,150 millimetres (10 ft 4 in) then there would be inconsistency with the 3,400 millimetres (11 ft 2 in) width of the futuristic
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The Railway Sector Act of 2003 separated the management, maintenance and construction of rail infrastructure from train operation. The former is now the responsibility of
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Ruzafa Ortega, Rafael (2018). "Entre política y negocios. Las élites de alcance nacional en la primera construcción ferroviaria en España (1850-1866)".
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was adopted in Spain partly in view of the desire to integrate with the rest of Europe, and the rest of Africa. If it uses the
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line was finished in 1837, and the full line in 1838. The first line to be built in the Peninsula was a short link from
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One key development was the decision, taken at an early stage, that Spain's railways should be built to an unusual
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234:. The development of a true railway network began under the overarching legal frame of the 3 June 1855
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It took many years for the railway system to recover from the war. In spite of this, innovators like
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in 1975, did the Spanish railway network begin to modernize and catch up with the rest of Europe.
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In recent years Spain's railways have received very heavy investment, much of it coming from the
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In 1986/7, many radial routes were closed: thousands of kilometres of passenger lines were axed.
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opened in 1848. Prior to 1854, the only lines built in Mainland Spain were Barcelona–Mataró,
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Great Britain but its railway network is about 3,000 km (1,900 mi) smaller.
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of Spain after 1978, those narrow gauge lines which did not cross the limits of
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and transferred to the regional governments, which formed, amongst others,
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Significant events in the history of Spanish infrastructures and railways
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The Madrid-Barcelona line is being extended onwards via an international
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In 1911 the first line to be electrified was the Gergal-Santa Fe line.
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was built in the more mountainous parts of Spain, especially in the
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1016:"Renfe suprimeix l'AVE Toledo-Albacete-Conca per manca de viatgers"
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network in Spain. There was an operating railway in the island of
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illustrated description of the railways of Spain and Portugal
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Compañía de los Ferrocarriles de Madrid a Zaragoza y Alicante
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begins in the 19th century. In 1848, a railway line between
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High speed lines operating, under construction and planned
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in the 1930s the railway network was extensively damaged.
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platforms with a wider gap, but not the other way round.
452:
Tail end of a Talgo III train, designed in the late 1960s
895:"Línea férrea Madrid-Sevilla: de los Rothschild al AVE"
258:(MZA), was constituted in 1856 as joint venture of the
1002:"Heads roll in Spain over trains too wide for tunnels"
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redesigned with delays of a year or two in delivery.
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Compañía de los Caminos de Hierro del Norte de España
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were also built to a broad gauge (roughly the same,
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46:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
414:nationalized the broad gauge network, and in 1941
575:in 2008. The same year, the lines from Madrid to
122:Map of railways of the Iberian peninsula (1921)
516:Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias
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821:Cuadernos de Historia Moderna y Contemporánea
661:African Integrated High Speed Railway Network
178:up-and-downs hindered the development of the
173:Railway network in Spain and Portugal in 1906
8:
779:"Breve historia de la esclavitud en España"
729:Red Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Españoles
477:Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya
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422:in the 1950s, later being grouped to form
352: in), and defined their gauge to be
106:Learn how and when to remove this message
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709:Ferrocarriles Españoles de Vía Estrecha
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602:where it will link up with the French
7:
1413:History of rail transport by country
804:. museo del Ferrocarril. p. 10.
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418:was formed. Narrow gauge lines were
55:"History of rail transport in Spain"
44:adding citations to reliable sources
1099:History of rail transport in Europe
1055:Winchester, Clarence, ed. (1936),
128:history of rail transport in Spain
14:
893:Rubio, Javier (27 January 2010).
817:"El ferrocarril La Habana-Güines"
695:width trains can happily work on
464:were taken out of the control of
433:created advanced trains like the
948:Kamen, Henry (2 December 2008).
815:Diego García, Emilio de (1983).
606:high-speed system. Although the
312:country in Europe. As a result,
274:('Norte'), constituted in 1858.
236:Ley General de Caminos de Hierro
20:
462:autonomous communities of Spain
443:Spanish transition to democracy
406:Nationalization of rail network
31:needs additional citations for
914:García García, Carmen (2007).
1:
1428:History of transport in Spain
777:Tovar, Julio (21 June 2020).
1061:Railway Wonders of the World
165:The Havana-Güines rail line
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410:Immediately after the war
1418:Economic history of Spain
714:History of rail transport
270:, its main rival was the
540:High-speed rail in Spain
1423:Rail transport in Spain
724:Rail transport in Spain
670:Spain UIC loading gauge
266:. Primarily led by the
1147:Bosnia and Herzegovina
1004:. Stuff/Fairfax. 2023.
719:Iberian-gauge railways
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608:LGV Perpignan-Figueres
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504:) all have autonomous
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338:, but rounded to five
194:stretch of the Havana–
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1029:CCMA (27 June 2011).
829:Ediciones Complutense
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384:narrow gauge railways
247:A major company, the
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1063:, pp. 1473–1480
1057:"Spain and Portugal"
559:) was built between
260:Marquis of Salamanca
40:improve this article
1363:States with limited
314:Portuguese railways
850:Ruzafa Ortega 2018
799:"España en líneas"
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954:. HarperCollins.
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550:standard gauge
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538:Main article:
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643:Loading Gauge
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548:. In 1992, a
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376:Iberian gauge
354:1,668 mm
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96:November 2009
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57: –
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51:Find sources:
45:
41:
35:
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29:This article
27:
23:
18:
17:
1392:Transnistria
1328:
1060:
1035:. Retrieved
1033:(in Catalan)
1024:
1010:
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965:. Retrieved
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929:(2): 72–73.
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594:beneath the
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502:Metro Bilbao
486:Madrid Metro
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38:Please help
33:verification
30:
1365:recognition
1339:Switzerland
1274:Netherlands
398:During the
388:north coast
264:Rothschilds
252: [
157:Development
1407:Categories
1309:San Marino
1269:Montenegro
1249:Luxembourg
1229:Kazakhstan
1132:Azerbaijan
1037:2016-02-06
967:2015-04-19
827:. Madrid:
741:References
577:Valladolid
526:High speed
508:services.
431:Goicoechea
374:), called
303:), or six
66:newspapers
1244:Lithuania
986:ignored (
976:cite book
935:1134-2277
872:0214-2570
837:0211-0849
600:Perpignan
579:and from
573:Barcelona
490:Barcelona
200:Barcelona
139:reached.
132:Barcelona
1372:Abkhazia
1324:Slovenia
1319:Slovakia
1294:Portugal
1152:Bulgaria
900:El Mundo
880:26543241
703:See also
629:Basque Y
621:Valencia
596:Pyrenees
494:Valencia
437:and the
372: in
336: in
301: in
268:Péreires
262:and the
228:Valencia
216:Albacete
212:Aranjuez
145:In 1941
1349:Ukraine
1299:Romania
1259:Moldova
1217:Ireland
1212:Iceland
1207:Hungary
1197:Germany
1192:Georgia
1182:Finland
1177:Estonia
1172:Denmark
1157:Croatia
1142:Belgium
1137:Belarus
1127:Austria
1122:Armenia
1117:Andorra
1112:Albania
731:(RENFE)
623:and to
613:Seville
581:Córdoba
565:Seville
367:⁄
347:⁄
331:⁄
296:⁄
220:Langreo
192:Bejucal
180:railway
80:scholar
1377:Kosovo
1344:Turkey
1334:Sweden
1314:Serbia
1304:Russia
1289:Poland
1284:Norway
1264:Monaco
1234:Latvia
1202:Greece
1187:France
1162:Cyprus
958:
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625:Lisbon
585:Málaga
569:Lleida
561:Madrid
555:line (
498:Bilbao
482:Madrid
309:France
232:Játiva
208:Madrid
204:Mataró
196:Güines
188:Havana
136:Mataró
82:
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53:
1329:Spain
1254:Malta
1224:Italy
919:(PDF)
876:JSTOR
802:(PDF)
735:Renfe
697:OSShD
691:Thus
648:Width
636:RENFE
617:Cádiz
506:metro
435:Talgo
416:RENFE
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224:Gijón
147:RENFE
87:JSTOR
73:books
988:help
956:ISBN
931:ISSN
923:Ayer
868:ISSN
833:ISSN
784:CTXT
563:and
496:and
474:and
466:FEVE
424:FEVE
226:and
184:Cuba
134:and
126:The
59:news
693:UIC
657:UIC
615:to
604:TGV
598:to
583:to
557:AVE
488:),
439:TER
320:or
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