Madrid-Sevilla high-speed rail line

The "Madrid-Sevilla high speed line" is a km to mi|472 Spanish railway line for high speed traffic between Madrid and Sevilla. The first Spanish high-speed rail connection has been in use since 21 April 1992 at speeds up to 300 km/h (186 mph). Travel time between the two end points was reduced by over half.

At Córdoba the Madrid-Málaga high-speed rail line leaves the line from Madrid.

Routing

The line starts at Madrid-Atocha and runs over 31 bridges (total length m to ft|9845) and through 17 tunnels (total length km to mi|16.03, crossing the plains of Castile. It climbs south of Toledo as well as when crossing the Sierra Morena to an altitude of 800 meters, and then descends to around sea level as it approaches Sevilla. End point of the line is the new railway station Santa Justa in Sevilla.

Technical details

The high speed line was constructed at standard gauge, in contrast with the rest of the Spanish railway network. Voltage is 25 kV AC instead of 3000 V DC. Twelve transformers feed the overhead wires. Some km to mi|8 before the start and end points of the line, the line merges with local DC tracks.

The line was equipped with signalling standards that had been developed in the 80s for the German Hanover-Würzburg high-speed rail line and the Mannheim-Stuttgart high-speed rail line.

At then end of 2006, Spanish governmental agency ADIF ordered technical changes to the safety systems along the line for an amount of 12.6 million Euros, so that in the future, trains of the RENFE-type 104 will be able to run at 200 instead of 180 km/h. A further amount of 4.1 million Euros has been spent on changes to the ASFA train safety system."High speed advances in Spain". In: "Railway Gazette International". 163, nr. 1, 2007, ISSN|0373-5346, page 4]

Between the railway stations along the line, passing stations and emergency stations are located (in Spanish: "Puesto de adelantamiento y estacionamiento de trenes", abbr. "PEAT"). These allow faster trains to overtake slower trains, and the parking of rescue trains. In addition, most of these stations have basic platforms that can be used to let passengers descend and change to buses in case of emergency.

History

On 11 October 1986 the Spanish government decided to build a new railway between Madrid and Sevilla. On 25 February 1988 the international tender for the acquisition of 24 high-speed trains AVE followed; these trains were ordered by 23 December 1988. The first train, based on the third generation of TGVs, was delivered on 10 October 1991.

In December 1988 it was decided to build the new line in standard gauge. Construction was ordered on 16 March 1989, and it lasted for 33 months; actual construction activity lasted only 24 months. Commercial use of the line commenced on 21 April 1992. In the first weeks, over 23 thousand passengers used the new trains - an occupancy rate of 81%.

On 20 April 1992, services started between Madrid and Sevilla. Non-stop travel time between the two cities were 2:45 hrs; with stops at Ciudad Real, Puertollano und Córdoba it was 2:55 hrs. In 1992, tickets cost around 50-70 euros in second class, in first class over 100 euros.

The line later received branches in Andalucia.

Impact

The new railway line radically changed the modal split between Madrid and Sevilla. The share of air traffic decreased between 1991 and 1994 from 40% to 13%; the combined share of car and bus decreased from 44% to 36%. The share of railway traffic increased from 16% to 51%, while total traffic increased by 35%.Moshe Givoni: "Development and Impact of the Modern High-speed Train: A Review". In: "Transport Reviews". 26, Nr. 5, Jahr, ISSN|0144-1647, S. 593–611]

In 1997, some 4.4 million passengers travelled along the line; in 1998, 4.75 million. By 1999, trains transported over 4 times as many passengers as planes between Sevilla and Madrid. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQQ/is_9_39/ai_58673327 "Spanish To Build More High-Speed Lines"] . International Railway Journal, Sept. 1999.]

External link

* [http://ferrocarriles.wikia.com/wiki/LAV_Madrid_-_Sevilla "LAV Madrid - Sevilla"] on "Ferropedia" es

Source

*"Hochgeschwindigkeitsverkehr in Spanien aufgenommen" and "Neubaustrecke Madrid–Sevilla in Betrieb", in: "Eisenbahntechnische Rundschau", June 1992, page 354 f. de

References