2022.07.30(v.3.2)

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2021.09.30(v.3.1)

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2020.10.27(v.3.0)

New sections opened bring the total HSL length to 3560km:

* 13. January 2020: NEW HIGH SPEED LINE inaugurated: Perafort - Hospitalet (64km)  [jump to this new line].
* 26. June 2020: NEW HIGH SPEED LINE inaugurated: Antequera–Granada (123km)  [jump to this new line].
* 27. October 2020: NEW HIGH SPEED SECTION inaugurated: Zamora - Pedralba (110km)  [jump to this new line].
* Added: Works resumed on Pulpi - Almería HSL, the so far not built sections are now mustly under construction [jump to this section].
* Added: Marchena - Pedrera. Works finished on 9km section as a substitute for old line wich got damaged by floodings [jump to this section].
* Several minor updates.

2019.02.02 (v.2.8)

* Added: Marchena - Pedrera. Works resumed on 9km section as a substitute for old line wich got damaged by floodings
* Several minor updates, esp. on Extremadura line provisional completion.

2017.05.01: (v.2.6)

* New works: The missing gap (approx. 10km) of the U/C line Plasenicia-Badojaz around Cáceres persists for several years now. Apparently it has been decided not to build the missing HSL section, but instead works now started to implement a short 2km connector between the high speed line and the old line which runs through the town of Cáceres  [jump to Cáceres link], the latter having several tight radius curves as the linked map shows.

* HSL- Works marked as abandoned : Earth and structural platform works on this Castejon - Villafranca section of 14,8km started in 2011/2012 and are so far concluded in mid 2014.

No further works began on what should once become a UIC high speed link communicating between the Basque Region (Y-Vasca) wth the Aragon region and the Medirranean towards Barcelona:

The initial project in 2004 was to connect the high-speed railway line between Madrid and Barcelona near Zaragoza, with the high-speed line in the Basque Country through a new 350km/h UIC gauge double track high speed line of 243km in length.

Due to the financial crisis 2008 and onwards, the new alignments of the UIC high speed line has been reduced from 214km to 65km (of which only 14km are partly built) from Pamplona to Castejón´. To further cut costs, only one track will be laid on the double track plattform. Because planning apparently insists on UIC gauge on the short high speed section, the remaining iberian gauge line has to be upgraded with UIC third rail

The executed works on the short section of 14km depict the dilemma of this maybe to ambitious plan which is not unlikely to remain unused for a long time.

Works marked as abandoned: Becasue no progress could be observed along the 16km Valladolid freight bypass since 2011 (6 years now), this future double track Iberian line has been marked as "construction abandoned" .
Therefore, freight trains are obliged to run through the city. The once two track Iberian gauge city crossing north of Valladolid station now is managed as follows: Quite surprisingly, along approx. 7km one track has been transformed to UIC gauge, the other one remains Iberian, thus drastically reducing capacity along this important North-South route for both High Speed services and freight/regional trains.

* Works marked as abandoned : No progress could be observed on the 26,8km long Variante de Camarillas since around 2009. Civil works seem terminated, for now 8 years vegetation is slowly winning back its ground. This isolated high speed (220-250km/h) line sould shorten the distances by 17km as the old line takes a very long detour. Four tunnels totalling 3,5km.

2016.05.01: (v.2.5)

* Mid 2015: NEW MEDIUM SPEED LINE COMPLETED and IN SERVICE: Utrera - Cádiz: The last approx. 27km section Utrera - Las Cabezas de San Juan  went into operation during 2015 [jump to completed section]. The entire 146km iberian gauge 3kV line equiped with ASFA signalling is therefore completed.

* Added two new work sites totaling approx. 6km [jump to new segments] on HSL Corredor Suroeste (Madrid - Badojaz) between Plasencia (=starting point of HSL) and Grimaldo Tunnel.  In 2015 it has been decided not to fully complete this HSL because of the financial situation, therefore four (temporary) connecting branches to the old line are required, but no works can be observed yet. So far -and very slowly- works concentrate on the minimal completition of the HSL alignment itself.

* Beacause some segments of the central triangle of "Basque Y" HSL have not yet been started as of March 2016,  two such segments have been removed from the map. In the central part of the "Y" two segments totalling around 13 km with a high amount of tunnels have not yet been started  [jump to triangle of Basque-Y HSL].
As of March 2016, two of the three endpoints of the "Y" are still missing works to connect the HSL with the classic network:  [Vitoria HSL connection: missing], [Bilbao HSL connection: N/A], [San Sebastian: U/C]. Also, some work sites appear to be abandoned partly completed since 2014. The rest seems mostly completed.

2016.01.01: (v.2.4)

* December 2015: NEW HIGH SPEED LINE inaugurated: Olmedo - Medina del Campo - Zamora (93km) [jump to this new line]. Part of the (yet incomplete) northern-west corridor linking Madrid with Galicia on the Atlantic ocean. Single track installed on 70km of the 95km. Initially 200km/h ASFA signalling, 300km/h ECTS will be commissioned later.

* Added 18 alignment improvements along iberian gauged Medina-Salamanca line [jump to this upgraded line] and the connector to Medina LAV [jump to this connector]. 25kV electrification and 155km/h operation inaugurated with fast trains to Madrid via the new HSL Omedo - Medina del Campo.

* Added (re-)construction of La Encina triangle - Xativa slow iberian gauge line [jump tp this reconstructed line]. This line needs to be ready before the parallel fast line built some decades ago can be regauged to UIC.

* Added several short Iberian gauged segments [1],[2],[3] to re-instaure the previously closed freight line parallel to the fast line Albacete - La Encina triangle.

2015.11.07: (v.2.3)

* September 29, 2015: NEW HIGH SPEED LINE inaugurated: Valladolid - Palencia - León (162,7km) [Jump to this new line]. Part of the (yet incomplete) northern corridor linking Madrid with Gijón in Cantabria on the Atlantic ocean. Single track from Valladolid to its suburbs (8km), then double track to Venta de Baños and the outskirts of Palencia, then around half of the 110km stretch from Palencia to León single track to safe money Initially 200km/h ASFA signalling, 300km/h ECTS will be commissioned later. Fastest Train Madrid - León: 2h06min (-44 min)

2015.04.19 (v.2.2):

* Added (Vigo) Redondela- Ribadavia (Ourense) single track upgrading [Jump to this upgraded line]. Eleven straightenings and curve radius improvements to 750-1000m, suitable for approx. 140-160km/h.

2015.03.28 (v.2.1):

* April 2015: NEW HIGH SPEED LINE COMPLETED and IN SERVICE: Vigo - Santiago de Compostela. [Jump to this new line]:
1.) Vigo - Soutomayour (16,5km), including newly built Vigo station leading to new 6km twin bore tunnel.
2.) Villagarcía - Padrón (26,5km), including Ulla Viaduct
(Total 93,9km, 25kV, 200km/h ASFA, waiting for 250km/h ETCS L1, Works started 2001)

* New worksites opened on Exdremadura line:
1.) Mérida bypass (ca. 8,5km), no exchange station along existing line!
2.) Grimaldo towards Plasenica along highway (ca. 7,3km)

* Minor refinements: Pajares northern access, Jaén short section works resumed(?).

2015.02.10 (v.2.0):

* Reworked Utrera - Càdiz line to reflect upgraded vs. new sections
* Reworked Basque Y to reflect new imagery (added some tunnels)

2014.11.08 (v.1.5):

Added 16 new short sections on upgraded Zaragoza - Teruel line (built 2001 to 2008) [Jump to this upgraded line].

2014.08.20 (v.1.4):

* July 2014: NEW HIGH SPEED SECTION IN SERVICE : 12km on Galicia Santiago - Vigo line [Jump to this new line]:. This interesting high speed line serves regional services too which is uncommon on Spain LAV's. It includes upgraded sections through and approaching cities as well as new fast alignments in between them. Because upgraded sections offer lower speed, I have traced those in a different color.

* Added a 5,5km section of northern approach to Jaén (LAV Madird-Jaén) [Jump to this section]. It seems construction is abandoned

2014.07.22 (v.1.3):

* Added the short (and only) 15km section [Jump to this section] of the Navarra LAV. Civil works seem completed on those 15km, making it rather unlikely that the whole 214km will become operative in a near or medium future as the finance crisis killed those projects that "started too late". No further works seem to be under way.

* Added two isolated short LAV sections U/C on the Extremadura LAV.

* Completed the western Loja approach U/C.

* Added some more line information (mouse click on a line segment to access them)

2014.06.03 (v.1.2):

Refined and completed the Basque-Y, evidencing the high proportion of tunnels. Works are well advanced, except for a short central section linking the two legs where works have not yet started (which will lead to a delay of one or two years for the branch to San Sebastian...)

Photo Images along High Speed Lines (v0.1)

*experimental proof of concept* References a collection of Panoramio images documenting railway infrastructure different photographers have uploaded to www.Panoramio.com service.

Clicking on a map marker in Google Earth (either on the "globe" or in the left explorer view) will open a balloon containing a preview of the image. Clicking on it will open the image in its Panoramio web page.

2014.04.21 (v.1.0):

Initial release