Renfe - Articles and news items

UIC Sustainability Award 2010 handed out at the 11th Sustainability Conference in Madrid

Rail industry news / 18 June 2010 /

The second edition of the UIC Sustainability Awards Ceremony was held at 11th edition of the Sustainability Conference organised by the International Union of Railways (UIC) and the Spanish Railways Renfe in Madrid on 16 –17 June 2010.

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The most modern fleet of high-speed trains in Europe

Issue 5 2009, Past issues / 26 September 2009 /

The year 2008 was the 160th anniversary of railways in Spain, which is all the more significant because now in the 21st Century, railways have clearly been modernised and this modernisation process will continue in the coming years. In accordance with the Strategic Infrastructures and Transport Planes (PEIT), prepared by the Ministerio de Fomento (Ministry of Public Works) and approved at a Cabinet Meeting on 15th July 2005, railways must play a central role in the Spanish intermodal transport system, for both passengers and freight, in order to respond to the citizens’ mobility requirements, to contribute to social cohesion, providing a backbone for the land and sustainability, because of the environmental advantages that railways provide. (more…)

Talgo: at the forefront of high-speed railway technology

Issue 4 2009, Past issues / 21 July 2009 /

The effect of implementing a high-speed network in Spain has been incredibly positive and it has created a ‘before and an after’ effect in the Spanish railway sector. Not long ago, trains were competing against cars, but nowadays trains are in competition with planes and this radical change shows the technological jump that the railway sector is going through thanks to high-speed worldwide.

Talgo has always been at the forefront of railway technology and today it has become the Spanish reference in the high-speed selected club of manufacturers. Although a reality today, the challenge of high speed has always been on Talgo’s horizon for many decades and the result of its constant innovative efforts and investment in R&D paid off in 2001 by winning a contract to supply Renfe Operadora with 16 Talgo 350 high speed trains for the Madrid-Barcelona line. Some years later, in 2005, Talgo was again awarded a contract in another international tender launched by Renfe Operadora to supply 30 additional Talgo 350 train-sets and, thus, making Talgo the number one supplier of high-speed trains in the Spanish market.

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RENFE finds unexpected answers to crowd congestion at Atocha

Issue 5 2008, Past issues / 27 September 2008 /

Sitting at the heart of Madrid’s extensive rail network, Atocha station is the biggest public transport interchange in the Spanish capital. Local rail lines, high-speed intercity services and metro lines from across the city come together here to provide an essential link for commuters, tourists and local residents alike. With hundreds of thousands of commuters and other rail travellers using the station every day, our primary aim is to ensure they are able to use transit safely and comfortably.

In recent years, passenger numbers at Atocha have risen sharply, putting pressure on the 19th century station. Of particular concern is the morning rush hour, when commuters arriving at Atocha via the suburban train lines transfer onto the Platform 1 services that take them into the centre of Madrid.

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Velaro E conquers high-speed in Spain

Issue 4 2008, Past issues / 1 August 2008 /

This article describes how the Velaro E meets the challenging requirements of the high-speed service in Spain, especially regarding reliability, safety and passenger appeal.

In 2001 and 2005, Spanish National Railways (Renfe) placed two orders with Siemens for the delivery of a total 26 high-speed trainsets as part of their programme for the development of the high-speed rail services in Spain. The first order marked the start of the development, design and production of Siemens’ new high-speed product platform Velaro® and made the most comfortable and fastest train in Europe become reality, the Velaro for Spain (Velaro E; Renfe’s class AVE S 103). An important milestone in high-speed traffic in Spain was reached on  20 February 2008, with the opening of  the 621km-long line between Madrid and Barcelona. The successful start of the passenger service between the two most important Spanish cities represented a groundbreaking milestone in the consequent development of the Siemens platform for high-speed trains. With a total travel time of less than 2 hours and 30 minutes and the exceptional service on board, the Velaro E is offering a really attractive alternative to airlines. As a result, high-speed train service will very soon be a strong competitor to the world’s busiest air route and the first months of operation have already given evidence that the Velaro E high-speed shuttle will become a serious competitor to the Spanish airlines. (more…)

ADIF looks towards the future

Issue 5 2007, Past issues / 26 September 2007 /

Heavy investments will be made in the Spanish railway network in forthcoming years.

The Spanish railway network has been split into separate companies managing the railway infrastructure (ADIF) and train operations (Renfe). There is strong political impetus to invest in the railways, with the 15-year Strategic Plan for Transport Infrastructure (PEIT 2005-2020) outlining the way in which the rail network will be upgraded. (more…)

Renfe faces the future with confidence

Issue 5 2007, Past issues / 26 September 2007 /

Completion of the first high-speed line in Spain 15 years ago gave Renfe a new confidence and investment in the network is continuing at a sustained pace.

Spain has one of the fastest–growing railway networks in Europe. Renfe (Spanish National Railways) gained a new confidence with the opening of the first high-speed line in the country in 1992, and since then has gone from strength to strength. Not only is the high-speed network growing faster than anywhere else in Europe, but the railway has also modernised its commuter and regional networks.

Work began in 1986 on the 471km Madrid–Seville high-speed line. Seville might seem a curious choice of destination for the country’s first high-speed line: a more obvious choice might have been a route linking the capital with the second-largest city, Barcelona. But the historic route to Seville through the mountains was a serious bottleneck on the network, and the World Expo planned for the city in 1992 gave the government a goal to work towards. (more…)

Talgo 250: a fine example of train development

Issue 4 2007, Past issues / 30 July 2007 /

Talgo’s main objective since the establishment of the company in 1942, has been the constant research and development of innovative, simple and efficient solutions for railway operators – not only in the field of rolling stock, but also in providing integrated maintenance services customised according to the operator’s needs.

Talgo was the first private company in the world to provide integrated maintenance services to railway operators worldwide with a clear objective: to provide an outstanding service to our customers and passengers through a continuous knowledge of their needs, giving priority to preventive and predictive measures with one clear aim: ‘zero’ failures.

Today, Talgo is increasing its range of products that range from passenger tilting trains for commuter, regional and intercity traffic to very high-speed trains and electric locomotives without leaving behind the maintenance equipment such as under-floor wheel lathes, laser measuring equipments, shunting devices and other maintenance tools such as calibres. (more…)