Spain has the longest high speed railway network in Europe and the second highest in the world
The country's total network accounts to 2,665km
Administrador De Infraestructuras Ferroviarias (Adif)
Spain has the longest high speed railway network in Europe and the second highest in the world, after China. The country&#8217;s total network accounts to 2,665km, with five dedicated lines. These lines establish high speed links between the largest cities of Spain and the capital city of <a href="https://www.railway-technology.com/projects/madridairport/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onkeypress="window.open(this.href);return false;">Madrid.</a>
<a href="https://www.railway-technology.com/projects/madrid-light-rail/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onkeypress="window.open(this.href);return false;">The Madrid</a>-Levante high speed rail network is one such network
which connects the capital city to the Mediterranean coast
The 955km high speed track is being built at an estimated cost of €12.5bn ($15.68bn)
making it the most expensive railway project ever undertaken in the country
The network is designed for operation at speeds of 300kmph
It consists of a number of sections and is compatible for both passenger and freight operations
The Albacete-Alicante section is scheduled to open in 2012. The section between the cities of <a href="https://www.railway-technology.com/projects/murcia-tram-line/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onkeypress="window.open(this.href);return false;">Murcia</a> and Castellon is scheduled for opening in 2015
State owned Spanish railway operator Administrador De Infraestructuras Ferroviarias (Adif) is the operator of the line
The European Union is providing a financial aid of €1.95bn ($2.45bn) towards the railway project
European Investment Bank (EIB) is also funding the project
The line starts from <a href="https://www.railway-technology.com/projects/atocharailwaystation/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onkeypress="window.open(this.href);return false;">Puerta de Atocha station</a> and heads towards Cuenca and Motilla del Palancar
The main line heads towards Albacete and La Encina
At La Encina the line branches into different sections
A section of these branches connects to the Mediterranean Corridor through Barcelona and Almeria
A stretch from here heads towards Jativa and Valencia, and stretches towards the south-east up to Monforte del Cid. At this point a segment branch heads towards <a href="https://www.railway-technology.com/projects/alicante/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onkeypress="window.open(this.href);return false;">Alicante</a>
while the main section heads towards Murcia and Cartagena
Trains heading towards Seville and the Spanish east coast will initially use the track between <a href="https://www.railway-technology.com/projects/madrid/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onkeypress="window.open(this.href);return false;">Madrid</a> and Seville until Torrejon de Velasco
A railroad bed is planned to run parallel to the above route between Madrid and Seville
The Torrejon de Velasco &#8211; Motilla del Palancar section is the first section stretching 223.6km
Toledo and Cuenca and Motilla del Palancar
Talgo 350 (T350) is a very high speed train developed by Patentes Talgo (Tren Articulado Ligero Goicoechea Oriol)
Motilla del Palancar &#8211; Albacete section is the most complex section as it crosses the Jucar River
It heads towards the city of Albacete after crossing the river
Motilla del Palancar &#8211; Valencia section is a 139km long stretch
starting from the link to Albacete section in Motilla del Palancar
It passes through Cuenca and Valencia provinces
Albacete &#8211; Almansa &#8211; La Encina &#8211; Xativa section is a 138.2km section in which the 100.5km track (in lberian gauge) is adopted for high speed operations
The remaining two parts Albacete &#8211; Alpera bypass and Alpera bypass &#8211; Nudo de la Encina
Xátiva &#8211; Silla Valencia section is a 59km long stretch along the Mediterranean Corridor parallel to the already existing conventional track
The Valencia &#8211; Castellon section stretches 55km and will reduce travel times between the two cities by 25 minutes
The 119km long La Encina &#8211; Alicante section will run from Encina bypass to Monforte del Cid
One of the branches will head towards Alicante and the other towards Elche
Monforte Del Cid &#8211; Murcia / Cartagena section currently operates on Iberian gauge trains until the arrival of high speed trains
Renfe AVE Class <a href="https://www.railway-technology.com/projects/talgo-train-very-high-speed-spain/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onkeypress="window.open(this.href);return false;">Talgo 350</a> trains are planned to be used on the high speed lines
The train is aerodynamically designed so as to make it comfortably pass through large tunnels at high speeds
The Talgo 350 trains can run at speeds exceeding 300kmph
The Torrejon de Velasco &#8211; Motilla del Palancar section includes a 4.7km long tunnel through the Regajal Nature Reserve
has one of the most extensive metro systems anywhere in the world
It also includes a 3.1km long Del Bosque tunnel through the Cuenca mountain range
A station at Cuenca is also planned for this section
Albacete station is being renovated for making it compatible with the high speed rail operation on the Motilla del Palancar &#8211; Albacete section
This station will also serve the line that connects to Alicante and Murcia
The Motilla Del Palancar &#8211; Valencia section includes 25km of tunnels
11km of viaducts and a station near Requena and Utiel
It also has a 261m long viaduct on the Contreras reservoir
Other viaducts are over the Margo river and A3 road
The line passes through the 7.25km long Cabrera tunnel in the Sierra de la Cabrera mountain ranges
The La Encina &#8211; Alicante section includes the 1.4km long Vinalopo viaduct
Barrancadas tunnel (which crosses the Sierra de Camara Mountains) and Umbria de Salinas
The high speed line is equipped with latest communication technologies
It uses GSM-R (Global System for Mobile Communication-Railway) and ERTMS (European Rail Traffic Management System) signalling and safety systems
will install Da Vinci control system on the high speed line
The system will implement centralised traffic control
energy remote control and video surveillance
Having first sanctioned a 160km/h (100mph) maximum speed as recently as 1986
Spain moved quickly to get high-speed rail into operation
It remains committed to long-term plans for the new network
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<a class="MkLink" aria-label="Go to home page" href="/en"></a>First TeamKike García: Thanks to Eibar I can fulfil my dream of playing in the First DivisionThe footballer from Cuenca came under the orders of the Eibar club today and was officially presented at Ipurua
During his presentation as a new player for the Gunsmiths
expressed his gratitude for being given the opportunity by the club to fulfil his &ldquo;dream of playing in the First Division&rdquo;
who will not be able to play competitive games until next season
said he was not thinking about that situation but about the fact that he will be an Eibar player until 2019
Kike Garc&iacute;a signed for the English FL Championship team Middlesbrough a year and a half ago
where he has remained until his move to Eibar
Now I will help the team in any way I can and next season I will start flat out
Eibar is growing each year and that encouraged me to make a change
I wanted to return to Spain,&rdquo; he said
Kike Garc&iacute;a (Motilla del Palancar-Cuenca
said that he had received &ldquo;an exceptional welcome&rdquo; in his new dressing room
It was a very good first impression&rdquo;
welcomed the Cuenca player and said that the arrival of Kike Garcia was &ldquo;the culmination of a desire that went back a number of years&rdquo;
&ldquo;Kike is a player that our Sports Management has been keeping track of for some time&rdquo;
explaining that they had tried to sign him when the team was promoted to the First Division
but that on that occasion the player decided to accept the offer of the English team
Aranz&aacute;bal stressed the fact that Eibar already has 14 players for next season
&nbsp;&ldquo;The goal is to give stability and continuity to the squad.&rdquo;
underlined the fact that Kike Garcia &ldquo;is a hungry player who above all will bring us goals
and that&rsquo;s something you have to pay for
He fits in with our way of working and our style
Time will tell if the gamble pays off or not.&rdquo;