{"id":2399,"date":"2017-02-09T16:06:20","date_gmt":"2017-02-09T15:06:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.revistaitransporte.com\/?p=2399"},"modified":"2017-02-14T16:50:33","modified_gmt":"2017-02-14T15:50:33","slug":"25-years-of-high-speed-in-spain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revistaitransporte.com\/25-years-of-high-speed-in-spain\/","title":{"rendered":"25 years of high speed in Spain"},"content":{"rendered":"

The experience gained from those years on has been a starting point and guide for building the backbone of the country, and we now have the second most extensive high-speed network in the world. In this quarter of a century since the first line was opened up to the current network comprising over 3,100 kilometres in service, the experts of Ineco have acquired unique experience in designing and constructing high-speed lines. The level of technology attained by companies of the Spanish railway sector has attracted such worldwide recognition that the specific term AVE (Alta Velocidad Espa\u00f1ola, or \u2018Spanish high speed\u2019) was coined to refer to the experience brought. This is because the development of this railway technology \u2013a major political objective of the governments of the last 30 years\u2013 has involved conditions and challenges incomparable with the histories of the few other countries that have embarked on this project (Japan, France, China, Italy, Germany, Belgium, the UK and, very recently, the USA), and overcoming these has driven Spanish companies to the highest level of expertise. We dedicate this report to the personal experience and memories of those who were with Ineco from the beginning, working closely with Renfe and the Ministry on successfully achieving this large-scale project.<\/p>\n

25 years, 25 experiences<\/h2>\n

Spain was the fourth country in the world to take on high speed, after Japan (Tokyo-Osaka, 1964), France (Paris-Lyon, 1981) and Germany (Hanover-W\u00fcrzburg, 1991). When in 1986 the government decided to build a high- speed line between Madrid and Seville, Spanish consultancy and engineering firms gave the best of themselves to make it a reality. In less than six years they managed to cover 471 kilometres in two hours and 50 minutes.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"FAMILY

FAMILY PHOTO. A group of Ineco engineers and technicians worked to make high speed a reality in the 1980s and 90s. In the picture, a large number of them are at the entrance to Ineco\u2019s headquarters in Madrid. \/ PHOTO_ELVIRA VILA<\/p><\/div>\n

The opening on 20th April 1992 \u2013after a record construction time\u2013 was scheduled to coincide with the Universal Exposition of Seville in 1992, and its challenge and aim were the economic development of Andalusia in the south of Spain. In the medium term, the government\u2019s objective was much more ambitious: to build a new, modern railway network to be integrated with the future European high-speed network, a decision taken in the Council of Ministers in December 1988. As a product of this effort in innovation, investment and work, Spain ended the 20th century with the greatest transport engineering project, the first step in the radical change that has taken the railway network to the highest levels of efficiency and quality.<\/p>\n

The speed with which the line was constructed \u2013the work was performed over four and a half years\u2013 was related to the choice of route, which avoided the mountain pass of Despe\u00f1aperros, a traffic bottleneck from Madrid to the south of the Peninsula. In the search for alternatives, eight years earlier, in 1984, Ineco had conducted a study for Renfe on the economic and social profitability of a railway line from Madrid to Seville through Brazatortas-C\u00f3rdoba. Two years later, on 11th October 1986, the government decided to prioritise the construction of this new railway access to Andalusia, named NAFA, which shortened the total distance by 100 kilometres. That same month Renfe entrusted Ineco with the execution of the preliminary and detailed designs for the main section, the Getafe-C\u00f3rdoba stretch, 320 kilometres long with a maximum speed of 250 km\/h.<\/p>\n

In December 1986 a team was formed to carry out the work, creating a mixed office between Renfe, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, and Ineco, so as to maximise its execution. From then until November 1987, a smaller group of engineers, draughtsmen and computer technicians began a frenetic race to carry out the preliminary and detailed designs for NAFA. Ineco directly completed 215 kilometres, and the best engineering consultants in Spain, such as Euroestudios, Intecsa, Eptisa and Iberinsa, were for the remaining 106 kilometres. All the infrastructure and track projects were undertaken and led by Ineco\u2019s civil engineer, Jorge Nasarre y de Goicoechea. French firm Alstom won the contract to make the rolling stock (the trains) and the German consortium AEG Siemens was commissioned to electrify the entire Madrid-Seville railway line.<\/p>\n

The opening on 20th April 1992 was scheduled to coincide with the Universal Exposition of Seville, and its challenge and aim were economic development of Andalusia in the south of Spain<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

On 5th October 1987, after delivering the initial projects, work began for the new Brazatortas-C\u00f3rdoba line, a stretch of 104 kilometres named NAFA Sur (South). By the end of 1987, all remaining projects on NAFA were delivered, tendered and contracted. One year later the projects were modified to adopt the international track gauge, which is different from the Iberian gauge, with the intention that the new developments could be integrated into the European network.<\/p>\n

At Renfe\u2019s request, from April 1990 until the completion of the work, Ineco took part in quality control for the track to be accepted. The team of fourteen Ineco technicians led by civil engineer Ulpiano Mart\u00ednez Solares, was advised by two German engineers sent by German firm DE-Consult (now DB), a subsidiary of the German railway company Deutsche Bahn. It is worth mentioning that both movable point frogs and those with a FAKOP solution, as well as the use of dynamic track stabilisers, were novel technologies in Spain. Today, our country is one of the leaders in designing and manufacturing these junctions. On the Madrid-Seville AVE we were able to improve the vertical stability of the track by levelling the land utilising techniques used in road construction. As regards lateral stability, Renfe\u2019s technology was perfected by placing a pre-stressed or post-stressed concrete sleeper and elastic fastening, which enabled the rail to be soldered indefinitely. Additionally, using a 36 m basic rail \u2013today, 90 m has been achieved\u2013 made it possible to considerably reduce discontinuities in the track in the form of electric welding.<\/p>\n

Thanks to the knowledge acquired in the assembly stage, Ineco\u2019s railway technicians got involved \u2013after it was put into service in 1992\u2013 in track and infrastructure maintenance assistance, forming a team which today continues working for Adif on the Madrid-Seville line, on the Mora, Calatrava and Hornachuelos work bases. Ernesto Gim\u00e9nez and Santos L\u00f3pez (together with Reyes Garc\u00eda) continue working today on the Calatrava base; Alfredo Olivera, Francisco Rebollo and Juan Carlos Olivera on the Hornachuelos base; and Francisco Casasola and Jos\u00e9 Mar\u00eda Melero on the Antequera base. Jes\u00fas M\u00e1rquez S\u00e1nchez is currently working on the Extremadura high- speed line, Antonio Mill\u00e1n on the Villarubia base of the Madrid-Valencia AVE, and Jos\u00e9 Luis G. Sarachaga is assigned to the Vilafranca del Pened\u00e8s base on the Madrid-Barcelona-French border AVE line. Rodolfo Velilla continues at Ineco as Maintenance Manager for the Madrid-Seville line and Manuel Corvo as a Senior Railway Expert.<\/p>\n