AVE high speed train in the railway station at Seville, Andalusia, Andalucia, southern Spain
From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia: AVE, an acronym for Alta Velocidad Española literally Spanish High Speed but ave also meaning bird in Spanish is a high speed train that can achieve speeds of up to 300 km h on dedicated track Unlike the rest of the Spanish broad gauge network the AVE uses standard gauge permitting direct connections outside Spain in the future All AVE trains are currently operated by RENFE the Spanish state railway company although it is possible that private companies may be allowed to run lines in the future History The AVE commenced service between Madrid and Seville on 21 April 1992 a distance of 471 km with a travel time of 2 5 hours It has been suggested that the PSOE government chose the French Alstom bid over the Siemens and Talgo bids for political rather than technical reasons rewarding the French government for its assistance in capturing ETA activists who took sanctuary across the border in Southern France Seville s hosting of the 1992 World s Fair prompted its choice for the inaugural AVE line but there were also accusations that the Spanish head of government Felipe González favoured his home city Seville is the fourth biggest city in Spain after Madrid Barcelona and Valencia The service guarantees arrival within 5 minutes of the advertised time and offers a full refund if the train is delayed further although only 0 16 of trains have been so In this regard the punctuality of the AVE is exceptional compared to other RENFE services and indeed even compared to the French TGV system The high speed of the train link combined with high property prices in Madrid has encouraged many Madrid commuters to settle in Ciudad Real the first stop on the Madrid Seville line
Size: 3892px × 5860px
Location: Seville, Andalusia, Andalucia, Spain
Photo credit: © Barry Mason / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: andalucia, andalusia, andalusian, ave, high, iron, line, rail, railroad, railway, seville, spain, spanish, speed, tourist, track, train, travel, traveling
