Madrid to Barcelona & return

[colinw]

Here's some photos I took last Saturday, July 30th. Madrid to Barcelona & return on the RENFE AVE high speed rail service. This is Spain's premier high speed route, operated by Siemens built HSTs with a design speed of 350 km/h, although limited to 300 km/h in service.

The day started with a suburban train from Torrejon de Ardoz to Madrid Atocha, boarding the 8:30AM AVE service from Madrid Atocha to Barcelona Sants.  This service, stopping only at Zaragoza Delicias, was timed for 2 hours 50 to cover the 620km.  Total rail distance covered in the day, 1240km high speed, plus a further 150km or so on suburban & Metro services.

[colinw]

Madrid Atocha.

[colinw]

Madrid Atocha.

[colinw]

At 300 km/h, features close to the line reduce to a blur. The overall sensation of speed was little different to a QR Tilt Train at 160 km/h.  Similar ride quality & level of noise.

[colinw]

Video taken from onboard while running at close to the 300 km/h maximum service speed. The trains themselves are capable of 350 km/h but are limited to 300 km/h for now.

[colinw]

Green power spotted along the way. Hopefully some of this was powering the train. 

[colinw]

Midpoint of the journey. Zaragoza, population 700,000. About 300km from both Madrid & Barcelona, and 1 hours 20 from either by HST. The station accommodates both standard gauge AVE tracks and normal 5'6" gauge RENFE tracks.

[ozbob]

Very nice ...

Thanks for sharing.  Hey, and we struggle to get basic subs to run on time!

Olé!

[colinw]

I am quite humbled by my experience of Spanish rail.  This is a country that knows what needs to be done, and is not messing around doing it. The remains of a rundown past only 30 years ago can be seen in many places, but unlike us they are not letting their past dictate their future.

More photos to come ...

[colinw]

Zaragoza.

[colinw]

We arrived into Barcelona about 10 minutes early, for a total of 2 hours 40 to cover 620km. After arrival in Barcelona, we transferred to Line 5 of the TMB (Transports Metropilitans de Barcelona) Metro.

[colinw]

Then at Diagonal onto Line 7, operated by the wonderfully named FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), finally arriving at the Av. Tibidabo terminus of the L7 spur line. This minor branch line was the least frequent urban service I have travelled on in Spain, running only every 15 minutes.

[colinw]

At Av. Tibidabo the terrain becomes too steep for a Metro, so the historic Blue Tramway (Tramvia Blau) takes over to ascend the hill, itself giving way to a Funicular for the final assault on the summit.

[colinw]

The combination of gorgeous architecture and a historic tramway was enough to have me in raptures ...  Yet another reminder of how mundane Brisbane really is.

[colinw]

The destination, half way up the hill, was the CosmoCaixa Barcelona science museum, located right next to the depot for the Tramvia Blau.

The museum is a wonderful blend of modern architecture within an historic facade, and caters well for visitors with all displays in three languages: Catalan (Barcelona local language), Castilian (international Spanish), and English.  Well worth a visit if you are ever in Barcelona.

[colinw]

I can't visit Barcelona without throwing in a couple of photos of Antoni Gaudí's masterpiece, the Sagrada Família (Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família).  Conceived in the 1860s, keystone laid in 1882, with completion due around 2026.

To return to the rail theme of this post, there is currently a controversy in Spain caused by the AVE high speed rail extension from Barcelona to the French border tunneling directly under the Sagrada Família.  Detractors fear this will destabilise the foundations of the building, but the AVE extension is necessary to complete through high speed rail service from Madrid to Paris and the rest of Europe.

[colinw]

After the Sagrada Família, our travels were interrupted by a violent hail storm. We beat a hasty retreat to a small bar and watched in amazement as a hailstorm like we have in Brisbane laid waste to everything. Afterwards there was water everywhere, branches down, and the Metro had stopped running.

A quick re-arrangement of plans saw us spend the rest of the afternoon in a Tapas bar that happened to serve German beers (Bitburger Pils and Erdinger Weissbier).

After determining that Metro service had been restored, we stayed put enjoying beer & food until 45 minutes before our scheduled departure back to Madrid. Being only 15 minutes Metro journey to Sants via the TMB line 3 there was no great hurry. In Spain (and much of the rest of Europe) you can rely on public transport, there is absolutely no stress involved and even in an unfamiliar city you are highly mobile thanks to the legible maps.

Finally, a couple of photos of a Talgo shut down for the night, snapped out the window as we briefly halted at Camp de Tarragona on the way back to Madrid.  Journey time back to Madrid was about 3 hours 18 with 5 stops, then another half hour on the suburban train to Torrejon.

I piled into bed at around midnight very satisfied. Thanks to high speed rail I had achieved the equivalent of being able to travel from Brisbane to Rockhampton and return with over 8 hours available at the destination to look around. Despite the hail storm the various rail systems I travelled on performed flawlessly. Yes, the Metro shut down after massive water ingress, but was sorted out and running within an hour. So much for Spain being disorganised!

I wonder if many of our politicians & transport bureaucrats have experienced European rail systems? If they had, I feel that policies in Australia would be different. The train from Madrid to Barcelona crosses country that is as open and empty as any landscape in Australia. Between Madrid & Barcelona, only Zaragoza is of any significant size, otherwise you are passing through kilometre after kilometre of magnificent emptiness.

The initial segment built for the Madrid to Barcelona high speed line was Madrid to Zaragoza, a pairing of cities of similar distance but less population than Sydney & Canberra. If Madrid to Zaragoza can succeed, and blossom into a national high speed system, then so can a Sydney to Canberra HST.

[johnnigh]

Sounds a great day, Colin.
My three days in Barcelona were just too exciting - need a week to orient and another week to see everything. All those trains are enormously exciting to ride, from the Very Fast to the very slow funiculars.

As the commercial and industrial heart of Spain, Barcelona bears much of the burden of keeping that country afloat, no wonder the Catalan cry (very publicly expressed when I was there as the Tour de France passed through) that 'Catalonia is not Spain'.

The propensity to spend up on big high-prestige projects is probably a difference between the Iberian and the Anglo psychology. We don't have the ticker to spend what we don't have, especially in the public arena. Australia's reaction to the financial crisis, to retreat to saving, has plenty of positives for us, but does mean we don't get Very Expensive Trains.

So Spain is on the verge of bankruptcy, on the heels of Greece, then to be followed by Portugal and Italy. Spain's unemployment is currently touching 20%, youth unemployment near to 50%. But they've got good trains and debt-finance running costs to keep them running.

I'm afraid I'm in the camp that says we should get our freight onto the rails first, not to mention getting our commuters onto both light and heavy rails. Yes, safeguard the corridor for a VFT that my great-great grandchildren can enjoy, but it's a lowish priority compared to other rail projects.

The last thing we want is for Australia to find itself with in the aftermath of the end of the mining boom with huge debts for underutilised infrastructure, under used because we can't afford the running costs. And, mark my words, the boom will end, just as all the earlier mining booms have ended.

[colinw]

... and that, folks, is the reason why Australia will probably never have high speed rail or even a decent freight & urban rail infrastructure. With the good mining income happening, the time to build things is NOW, while we still have half a chance of affording them. Even if it means debt.

[O_128]

... and that, folks, is the reason why Australia will probably never have high speed rail or even a decent freight & urban rail infrastructure. With the good mining income happening, the time to build things is NOW, while we still have half a chance of affording them. Even if it means debt.

exactly at least we can pay the debt off relatively quickly.

[Stillwater]

Provided the investment is sound, and what it is put to makes money over time, or capitalises over time, it is wise investment.  The attitude of this government is to wait until something is absolutely needed, or beyond that point, before funding it.  Lots of glossy brochures to give the impression of planning, no planning in fact, and having to be dragged kicking and screaming to do something.  Petrie-Kippa Ring would have been on the planning books still if the local council and the federal government had not embarrassed the state into coming on board.  There was a lot of talk about CRR from the state, but no plnning, until the federal government kicked in the bulk of the money for that to occur.  Smug LNP members should not rest easy.  Additional tunnel capacity between Central and Fortitude Valley, electrification of the principal network, track duplication to Caboolture -- all due in large part to Commonwealth governments.  Gold Coast light rail is another example.  While this state government says it is planning for our rail future, it virtually has to be bribed to act.

[colinw]

On Saturday I caught an "AVANT" medium distance high speed service (RENFE Media Distancia) from Madrid to Toledo.

No pictures, sorry, as my camera decided to conk out and everything I took is blurry. Something in the zoom drive mechanism has broken and is rattling around near the lens, occasionally occluding part of the picture. Worse still, the focus no longer works and appears to be stuck on a close-up macro setting. I am still able to take macro shots but anything at normal focal distances is blurred.  Grrrrr!!!!!

Anyway ...

The Madrid to Toledo service is a new medium distance standard gauge high speed line, operated by Class 120 dual gauge / dual voltage units. Max speed 275 km/h. They are capable of running on standard gauge under 25KV AC, or on 5'6"  broad gauge under the traditional RENFE 3KV DC electrification. Gauge change is achieved at 30km/h without stopping (yet again, something discussed & dismissed as impossible in Australia, yet achieved in other countries without fuss).  The class 120s are lovely to ride on, I'd love to see something like them operating new Sydney to Canberra and Sydney to Newcastle lines.  Their Spanish manufacturer - CAF - is one of the three groups bidding for the new Brisbane suburban trains, and given the quality of the rollingstock I've ridden on here I would not be at all upset to see them win (although Bombardier remains the sentimental favourite but only if they manufacture in Maryborough). CAF have a lot of narrow gauge experience, given the large metre gauge systems in the Basque country to the north, and also the presence of some metre gauge metros. Their major export market at present is South America (Santiago Metro, etc.), but I think that may change.

Unlike the previous Spanish rail services I have travelled on, I have to say that in the case of the Toledo service "I just don't get it!".

Previously Toledo was served by a 5'6" 3KV DC line via a slightly different route, and would have operated effectively as an outer suburban route from Madrid.  The 5'6" still makes it almost to Toledo, and about 15 or 20 km out of the city you see where the former route diverged from the current line, as the 5'6" is still in place. The end of the 5'6" line now serves as a Redbank style "rotten row" and is crammed with old Madrid suburban units, etc.

Before the high speed standard gauge line in, Toledo had trains from a number of destinations, the service served some intermediate stops. Since the high speed went it it is now a 70km point to point sprint timetabled for 33 minutes but actually taking about 25, and the intermediate stations have lost their rail service entirely. Freight access to Toledo has also been lost.

The final part of the Toledo line I simply don't understand is why you would build a multi-billion Euro high speed line to a destination only 70km from your capital city, then only provide 10 or so trains a day. Service frequency is 30 minutes at best, but with gaps up to 90 minutes. We missed our intended train at Madrid Atocha due to a malfunctioning ticket machine, and had to wait 90 minutes for the next train - in the middle of the day on a Saturday.

IMHO the Toledo high speed line was a mistake, and should have instead been done as an upgraded broad gauge line integrated into Madrid Cercanias, and serviced at outer suburban frequencies.  The distance of 70km from Madrid does not warrant 275 km/h trains, exhilarating as they are to ride, and given the short distance you really only hit maximum speed for a short time. In any case it is necessary to slow due to the junctions where the Valencia & other lines diverge off, the Toledo line really being a short spur off longer lines.

One last note - RENFE ticketing is really starting to get on my nerves.  Nothing is integrated, and long distance tickets are a pain to buy.  The RENFE website doesn't work properly with Australian credit cards, and the automatic ticket machines at Atocha are broken much of the time. End result - we had to queue for ages and missed our train.

Likewise the suburban trains, metro & buses are NOT integrated and still use paper tickets.  Go Card really is a much better system, even if a litttle expensive.  The rail services are much better here, but not the ticketing & integration.

I'm on my way home in a couple of days, although the amount of new technology to be learned means I will undoubtedly return. Thanks to the Spanish high speed lines & mass construction of metros, the centre of gravity of technology development in the company I work for is now here rather than England. Just as well the company is going to pay for language courses for my team!

cheers,
Colin

[ozbob]

Thanks for the interesting updates!

Gauge change at 30km/h sounds rather impressive to say the least!

Happy travelling!

[O_128]

So was the point of the HSR Madrid to Toledo line really more built as a line to allow other HSR lines to branch off with the added bonus of going to Toledo?

I have to say that the bickering between state in Australia is absolutely pathetic and something needs to be done ASAP, the hospital takeover is a good example, Federal gov should have said we will be taking over health end of story.

Its amazing that countries with no money see the benefit of HSR yet our enlightened politicians can not, It seems all over europe there is a real can do attitude.

[somebody]

I have to say that the bickering between state in Australia is absolutely pathetic and something needs to be done ASAP,

It's getting worse and worse with every passing decade.  The promised federal hospital takeover (by Rudd) to end the bickering never eventuated.  Perhaps it was a non core promise.

[colinw]

So was the point of the HSR Madrid to Toledo line really more built as a line to allow other HSR lines to branch off with the added bonus of going to Toledo?

I think that's exactly what happened. As a destination it was bracketed by other planned & existing high speed lines, and changing it over to a new HSR spur allowed a big chunk of outdated broad gauge to be culled.  Closed rail alignment was certainly in evidence in one or two places - a dirt road that still has power stanchions is a dead giveaway!

I have to say that the bickering between state in Australia is absolutely pathetic and something needs to be done ASAP, the hospital takeover is a good example, Federal gov should have said we will be taking over health end of story.

Its amazing that countries with no money see the benefit of HSR yet our enlightened politicians can not, It seems all over europe there is a real can do attitude.

Spain has elements of our Federal structure, with regions divided into Autonomous Communities (e.g. Catalonia) with their own Government, which are in turn broken into Provinces. Many of these "states" run their own railways, etc., like the FGC I rode on in Barcelona. But, even with several major languages in play, they still manage to co-operate better than we do with a common culture & language.

If the EU manages to hold together (a big "if", that), I wouldn't be surprised to see parts of Spain in the north (Basque country, Catalonia and the bit that speaks Galician up to the north of Portugal) break away in a gentle split similar to the way the Czech & Slovak republics have.

IMHO the whole Federal structure of Australia is overdue for a rethink, but doubt anything will ever change.

[O_128]

So was the point of the HSR Madrid to Toledo line really more built as a line to allow other HSR lines to branch off with the added bonus of going to Toledo?

I think that's exactly what happened. As a destination it was bracketed by other planned & existing high speed lines, and changing it over to a new HSR spur allowed a big chunk of outdated broad gauge to be culled.  Closed rail alignment was certainly in evidence in one or two places - a dirt road that still has power stanchions is a dead giveaway!

Hmm I thought so, I guess over time more trains will run to Toledo. I share your same annoyance with Ticketing systems in europe as well. Italy had a different system for its suburban, metro and HSR services and bus services in each city, considering people commuted regularly from florence to rome it would make sense to unify this. This only city that really does it right is the UK.