high-speed rail
replacing spain’s
planeS with
350kph trainS
Spain has the third largest high-speed rail network in the world, behind Japan and
France – and it’s about to undergo yet another growth spurt, as ron Smith explains
O
ver the past 10 years, Spain has
modernised its railway network, with
a view to bringing fast reliable rail
services within reach of most of the population.
The aim is that by 2020, 90 per cent of the
population will be within 50km of a 10,000km
high-speed network. This should take away the
traffic from the internal airlines.
The formula is simple – provide high quality
services, frequently, at a good price, at a speed
that is unbeatable. The success of this is proved
by the results achieved. Spain is now number
three in the world league of countries with high-
speed (300kph or more) lines. The time savings
are impressive. For example, a recent trip from
Madrid to Segovia by the conventional route,
on a Cercanias (commuter) train, took two
hours. The return on the high-speed line took
26 minutes.
In February 2008, Barcelona was brought
into the network with the opening of the 350
kph line via Tarragona, Lleida and Zaragoza
to Madrid. Fifty-two trains per day (26 pairs)
cover the 628km route in two hours, 38
minutes. This service has attracted 48 per cent
of the market between the two cities already,
and it is still growing – it’s just not worth the
hassle of taking the plane. Punctuality on
Renfe high-speed lines is 98.54 per cent on-
time arrival, second only in the world to Japan
with 99 per cent.
By comparison, the Iberia airline achieves
77.8 per cent and British Airways 64.7 per cent.
Renfe is so confident of its timekeeping that on
the Madrid to Seville route, if the train is five
minutes late passengers receive a 100 per cent
cash refund! On other high-speed lines, a 50
per cent refund is given for a 15 minute delay,
a renfe avant.
and 100 per cent refund for a train arriving 30
28 rail professional : january 2010
RPJan10 pp28-29 Spain.indd 28 10/12/09 15:28:51
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