Alvia is ahigh-speed train service inSpain offered byRenfe Operadora on long-distance routes with a top speed of 250 km/h (160 mph). The trains have the ability to use bothIberian gauge andstandard gauge, which allows them to travel on the recently constructed high-speed lines for part of the journey before switching to the "classic" Iberian gauge network to complete it. Trains that run exclusively on high-speed tracks are brandedAVE orAvant.
Mixed-high speed services via conventional lines in Spain. Sections overHigh-speed railway lines in blue, sections over conventional line (inIberian gauge) in red).
Class 130 trains are used on the routes from Madrid toCádiz,[4] from Madrid toAvilés changing gauge atLeón,[5] and fromAlicante to Gijón and Santander changing gauge at León and Venta de Baños respectively, and between Barcelona and Salamanca/Galicia.[6]
Finally Class 730 are used on the routes fromMadrid Chamartín toA Coruña,Ferrol,Vigo,Lugo andBadajoz as well as fromMadrid Atocha toAlmeria andAlgeciras.[7][8][9] These trains also used to operate the routes from Madrid toMurcia, before those are replaced byAVE services. Unlike the other classes, these can run on diesel as well as overhead electric power and so are used on those routes where lines are not electrified.
As of 2024[update] Renfe offers the following Alvia services:
Alicante–Santander, via Villena, Albacete, Cuenca, Madrid, Segovia, Valladolid, Palencia and Torrelavega.
Barcelona–A Coruña, via Camp Tarragona, Lleida, Zaragoza, Tudela, Castejon, Tafalla, Pamplona, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Miranda de Ebro, Burgos, Palencia, Sahagun, León, Astorga, Bembibre, Ponferrada, O Barco de Valdeorras, A Rúa, San Clodio-Quiroga, Monforte de Lemos, Ourense and Santiago de Compostela.
Barcelona–Bilbao, via Camp Tarragona, Lleida, Zaragoza, Tudela, Castejon, Calahorra, Logroño, Haro and Miranda De Ebro.
Barcelona–San Sebastian, via Camp Tarragona, Lleida, Zaragoza, Tudela, Castejon, Tafalla, Pamplona, Altsasu and Zumarraga.
Barcelona–Salamanca, via Camp Tarragona, Lleida, Zaragoza, Tudela, Castejon, Tafalla, Pamplona, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Miranda de Ebro, Burgos, Valladolid and Medina del Campo.
Barcelona–Vigo, via Lleida, Zaragoza, Pamplona, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Burgos, León, Ponferrada, Ourense and Guillarei, with connection services to Gijón in León and to A Coruña in Monforte de Lemos.
Gijón–Alicante, via Oviedo, Mieres Del Camín, La Pola, León, Palencia, Valladolid, Segovia, Madrid, Cuenca, Albacete and Villena.
Madrid–Algeciras via Ciudad Real, Puertollano, Córdoba, Antequera, Ronda and San Roque-la Línea.
Madrid–Almeria, via Córdoba, Antequera, Granada and Guadix.
Madrid–Avilés, via Palencia, León, Mieres Del Camín and Oviedo.
Madrid–Badajoz, via Leganés, Torrijos, Talavera De La Reina, Oropesa de Toledo, Navalmoral De La Mata, Monfragüe-plasencia, Cáceres and Mérida.
Madrid–Bilbao, via Segovia, Valladolid, Burgos and Miranda de Ebro.
Madrid–Badajoz, via Leganés, Torrijos, Talavera De La Reina, Oropesa, Navalmoral De La Mata, Monfragüe-plasencia, Cáceres and Mérida.
Madrid–Cádiz, via Ciudad Real, Puertollano, Córdoba, Sevilla and Jerez de la Frontera.
Madrid–Ferrol, via Segovia, Medina del Campo, Zamora, Sanabria, A Gudiña, Ourense, Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Betanzos and Pontedeume.
Madrid–Huelva, via Cordoba and La Palma Del Condado.
Madrid–Irun, via Segovia, Valladolid, Burgos, Miranda de Ebro, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Zumarraga, Tolosa and San Sebastián.
Madrid–Logroño, via Guadalajara, Calatayud, Tudela and Calahorra
Madrid–Lugo, via Segovia, Medina del Campo, Zamora, Sanabria, A Gudiña, Ourense, Monforte De Lemos and Sarria.
Madrid–Pamplona, via Guadalajara, Calatayud, Tudela and Tafalla.
Madrid–Salamanca, via Segovia and Medina del Campo.
Madrid–Santander, via Valladolid, Palencia, Aguilar De Campoo, Reinosa and Torrelavega.
Madrid–Vigo, via Segovia and Medina del Campo, Zamora, Sanabria, A Gudiña, Ourense, Vilagarcia De Arousa and Pontevedra (trains with selective stops are also scheduled).
On 24 July 2013, the train driver of an Alvia 730 train traveling fromMadrid toFerrol, Galicia, took a curve well above the posted speed limit,[10] and the train derailed nearSantiago de Compostela killing 79 people and injuring more than 140.[11][12][13]
