National
AVE high speed train celebrates 15 years in Spain
By h.b,
Apr 22, 2007 - 9:52 AM

The AVE high speed train celebrated it’s 15th birthday in Spain on Saturday. It was on the 21st April 1992 that two trains left from Madrid and Sevilla to open the service.

Criticised by the opposition leader at the time, José María Aznar, who claimed it would run empty after the Expo 92, the service has since proven to be popular and has carried more than 41 million people at speeds of 300kms/hour.

By the end of this year the AVE will reach 19 cities, including Barcelona and Málaga, and there will be over 1,000 kilometres of track in service across the country. The tracks are 1.4 metre gauge, compared to the now almost obsolete traditional gauge in Spain of 1.6 metres.

By 2010 Spain will have become the country with most high speed track in the world.