Alta Velocidad Española (AVE)[a] is ahigh-speed rail service operated byRenfe, the Spanish State railway company. The first AVE service was inaugurated in 1992, with the introduction of the first Spanish high-speed railway connecting the cities ofMadrid,Córdoba andSeville. In addition to Renfe's use of theAdministrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias-managed rail infrastructure in Spain, Renfe offers two AVE services partially in France, connecting respectively Barcelona-Lyon and Madrid-Marseille.[7]Alta Velocidad Española translates to "Spanish High Speed", but the initials are also a play on the wordave, meaning "bird". AVE trains operate at speeds of up to 300 km/h (186 mph).[8][9]
Madrid–A Coruña via Zamora, Ourense and Santiago De Compostela.
Madrid–Ourense via Zamora.
Madrid–Vigo via Zamora, Sanabria, A Gudiña, Ourense, Santiago de Compostela, Vilagarcía de Arousa and Pontevedra (trains with selective stops are also scheduled).
Madrid–Granada via Ciudad Real, Puertollano, Córdoba, Puente Genil-Herrera, Antequera and Loja (trains with selective stops are also scheduled).
Madrid–Málaga via Ciudad Real, Puertollano, Córdoba, Puente Genil-Herrera, and Antequera (non stop trains and trains with selective stops are also scheduled).
Madrid–Seville via Ciudad Real, Puertollano, and Córdoba (non stop trains and trains with selective stops are also scheduled).
Alicante–León via Albacete, Cuenca, Madrid Chamartín, Valladolid and Palencia.
Alicante–Ourense via Albacete, Cuenca, Madrid Chamartín and Zamora.
Barcelona–Granada via Tarragona, Lleida, Zaragoza, Ciudad Real, Puertollano, Córdoba and Antequera.
Barcelona–Málaga via Tarragona, Lleida, Zaragoza, Ciudad Real, Córdoba, Puente Genil-Herrera, and Antequera.
Barcelona–Seville via Tarragona, Lleida, Zaragoza, Ciudad Real, Puertollano and Córdoba (trains with selective stops are also scheduled).
Burgos–Murcia via Valladolid, Segovia, Madrid-Chamartín, Elche and Orihuela.
Gijón–Castellón via Oviedo, Mieres Del Camín, La Pola, León, Palencia, Valladolid, Segovia, Madrid-Chamartín, Cuenca, Valencia and Sagunto.
Gijón–Vinaros, via Oviedo, Mieres Del Camín, La Pola, León, Palencia, Valladolid, Segovia, Madrid-Chamartín, Cuenca, Valencia, Sagunto, Castellón, Benicàssim, Oropesa del Mar and Benicarló (only in summertime).
Huesca–Seville via Tardienta, Zaragoza, Calatayud, Guadalajara, Madrid-Puerta de Atocha and Córdoba
Málaga–Murcia via Madrid-Puerta de Atocha, Cuenca, Albacete, Villena, Alicante, Elche and Orihuela.
Valencia–Burgos via Requena-Utiel, Cuenca, Madrid Chamartín and Valladolid (trains with selective stops are also scheduled).
Valencia–León via Requena-Utiel, Cuenca, Madrid-Chamartín, Segovia, Valladolid and Palencia (trains with selective stops are also scheduled).
Valencia–Seville via Cuenca, Ciudad Real, Puertollano, and Córdoba.
Barcelona–Lyon via Girona, Figueres, Perpignan, Narbonne, Montpellier, Nîmes, and Valence.
Madrid–Marseille via Guadalajara, Zaragoza, Tarragona, Barcelona, Girona, Figueres, Perpignan, Narbonne, Béziers, Montpellier, Nîmes, Avignon and Aix-en-Provence.
The central hub of the AVE system is Madrid'sPuerta de Atocha, except for theMadrid–Asturias, Madrid–Burgos,Madrid–Galicia and Madrid–Alicante lines as well as the majority of the services on the Madrid-Murcia and Madrid-Valencia lines, that terminate atChamartín station.[12][13] Madrid Atocha and Chamartín station are linked byMadrid Metro (Line 1) andCercanías Madrid services but As of 2025[update] not by any standard gauge lines, making it difficult for high speed trains to serve both.
The still-growing network transported a record 39.0 million passengers in 2024.[14] Though the network length is extensive, it lags in ridership behind comparable high-speed rail systems in Japan, France, Germany, China, Taiwan, and Korea.
AVE passengers in millions from 2006 to 2024[15][16][14]
