Page 487 - 360.revista de Alta Velocidad - Nº 6

High Speed Rail in Spain - a statement from a foreign expert

Figure 3 proves that an Alvia train West Spain - Barcelona, which also calls at Lleida and Camp de
Tarragona, would be intersected by 3 AVE trains in the section Zaragoza - Barcelona .Such an Alvia
train should be cancelled in the section Zaragoza - Barcelona. When such a train terminates in
Zaragoza measures must be taken to improve the interchange modes in Zaragoza. For this refer
to topic 3.10.3. Keeping up a through service Barcelona - West Spain would require an EMU, which
is capable of running 300 km/h between Barcelona and Zaragoza on European track gauge (1435
mm) and than running on the Iberian gauge (1668 mm) beyond Zaragoza. This seems not to be
an economic solution for RENFE, because this train must run additional to the proposed regular
service and only very few special EMU’s would be required for this through service.
The situation in the section Madrid - Zaragoza is a little bit less complicated. Given the possibility
of departing three trains in a headway of 3 minutes to each other every hour only one train path
with the fixed departure at minute /.20 o’clock would remain for an Alvia nonstop service Madrid
- Pamplona. If the existing signalling system only allows a headway of 5 minutes, as by the present
timetable may be assumed, no Alvia train path without any intersection can be scheduled. A
target for the train diagram between Madrid and Barcelona is presented on page 36.
Figure 4. Train diagram study for AVE line Madrid - Sevilla

Figure 4 demonstrates the same problem for the Madrid - Sevilla route. A nonstop Alvia train
path Madrid - Sevilla can’t be scheduled without any intersection by an AVE train path, if the
latter run in a 30 min space to each other. So an economic solution can only be that passengers
from Madrid bound for Cadiz or Huelva use the AVE train until Sevilla and there change trains
for their final destination, if possible at the same platform (see topic 3.10.3)

International Congress on High-speed Rail: Technologies and Long Term Impacts - Ciudad Real (Spain) - 25th anniversary Madrid-Sevilla corridor 485