MADRID > SEVILLE

Madrid and Seville. The first is creative, multicultural, one of the great capital cities of Europe. The second represents the festive and colourful essence of Andalusia. Spain occupies the most southwestern corner of the European continent, and over the past thirty years has engaged in an exemplary process of infrastructure modernisation. In terms of rail, Spain made the courageous decision to build its first standard gauge high-speed line, at the time when the entire medium and long distance network was composed of wide-gauge and, in the Cantabria area, narrow-gauge tracks. On 21 April 1992, the inauguration of the Madrid-Seville line coincided with the opening of the Universal Exposition in Seville. Today, passengers travel between the two cities in two hours and twenty minutes.

• Leaving Madrid
• The burden of railway heritage
• Madrid-Seville, the journey
• In record time

• The Talgo models
• Arriving at Seville
• A greater mobility

Leaving Madrid

After Paris and London, Madrid is one of the most visited cities of Europe. Due to its geographical position at the heart of the Iberian Peninsula, the city has experienced many cultural influences. As the seat of Habsburg and later Borbón royalty, Madrid is host to prestigious architectural structures and monuments, and rich masterpieces line the walls of its legendary museums. Vibrant, attractive and modern, with its festive lifestyle and cultural scene, the city is known for its high-octane night life. The image of a “city that never sleeps” is well justified. Atocha is the largest rail station in the capital city, and with its multiple points of access, transforms each day into a well-organised beehive.

The older hall - dating back to the 19th century – is a destination in itself, with its brick walls and steel and glass coffer. Visitors discover an unexpected tropical paradise at the heart of the station, where a monumental greenhouse is home to four thousand trees and plants from five continents. The expansion and modernisation of Atocha Station, designed by Spanish architect Rafael Moneo in 1992, was driven by the arrival of the high-speed network. This new construction brought several buildings together under one roof, all contiguous to the historic hall.

The burden of railway heritage

There were many reasons for Spain to increase and accelerate investment in the creation of a modernised rail network. Dilapidated tracks could no longer meet the needs of the country’s growing economy. Gauges of different sizes were a reflection of the country’s history as well as an impediment to progress, forcing Spain into a position of rail isolation from the rest of the European continent, except Portugal. Indeed, the imperative to compete with the renovated national road network and to improve market position for the railway in an international context combined to impose a radical change in priority. Spain made the courageous decision to support rail, taking advantage of the exceptional opportunity offered by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and benefitting from these subsidies to build a modern network equipped with standard gauging. Turning its back to conventional technology, Spain took a great leap forward to overcome the weak legacy of its national railways. After careful consideration, the major tourism axis of Andalusia was chosen to become the first destination for high-speed – or AVE (Alta Velocidad Española) – and the Madrid-Seville line was put into operation. Initially, the Spanish joined forces with the French to acquire rolling stock and with Germany for signalisation and electrification systems. Then, slowly but surely, Spain began to create its own railway industry, which has now developed its own high-speed trains by Talgo and CAF, including those able to operate automatically between variable-gauge tracks.

In record time

The construction of new high-speed tracks required complex works, notably in terms of the equipment of rail stations with tracks, built specifically for the Spanish high-speed rail. In order to save travelling time, engineers created a route that is much more direct than the classic line, rendering possible access to cities once isolated such as Ciudad Real and Puertollano. The 105-kilometres-long section between Brazatortas and Cordoba presented the most challenging phase of construction. The line crosses the Sierra Morena mountains, so this section required many tunnels – 15 out of a total 17! – and half of all viaducts along the line. In order to facilitate wildlife mobility, 287 passages were dug underneath the track. Great efforts were undertaken to refurbish the surrounding environment after works were completed: reforestation with indigenous flora, treatment of river water, and more. During the excavation phase of the Cordoba rail station construction, vestiges of a monumental archaeological complex were discovered. The Cercadilla site revealed a Roman palace with its majestic semi-circular crypto portico and other edifices attributed to the emperor Maximianus Herculius.

The historical significance of this find, which dates back to the 3rd century, is remarkable. In Madrid, another feat of engineering is represented by the three “tunnels de la Risa” (tunnels of laughter), which provide an underground city link between Atocha and Chamartín stations. Two of these tunnels are dedicated to wide tracks with Iberian gauge, while the third, completed in 2019, connects the northern and southern high-speed lines. Above all others, the major challenge of the Madrid-Seville line was to respect a very tight project schedule. In order to coincide with the opening of the 1992 Universal Exposition in Seville, the entire line had to be completed in the record time of six years, though the decision had been taken in 1986!