The Madrid-Seville high-speed line, which with its 470.5 kilometres of track made it the longest high-speed line in Europe at the time, was the largest railway engineering work carried out in our country until then. It was put into service on 21st April 1992, the same day that Expo’92 opened its doors to the public. In addition to the arrival of high-speed in our country, the Madrid – Seville line meant the roll out of a transport system that has transformed mobility in a way that, 30 years ago, seemed inconceivable. It has undoubtedly meant the total transformation in the way users travel.
There were many challenges that had to be faced for its construction:
– The decision to implement the European track gauge, which made it necessary to modify and complete the original project to circumvent the Pass of Despeñaperros.
– The facilities were another giant leap due to the innovative approach with which they were designed:
– Electrification. The challenge was defined by the increase in speed, which marked the need to optimise energy capture, meaning that light catenaries were required. For the first time in Spain, a voltage of 25 kV was installed in alternating current, compared to that of 3,000 V in direct current of the Spanish railway. Finally, the Re-200 catenary, employed in Germany for high speed, was used.
– Signalling. For the first time, side signals were dispensed with on the track and the control and management of the entire line was carried out in an automated and centralised way from the Atocha Control Centre, in Madrid. The LZB system was also imported from Germany.
– Automated and centralised circulation management system. Through this system, the Control Centre has memorised the route and characteristics of the line and, as Adif states, “through a cable laid on the route and the electronic interlocks (a total of eight along the line), it receives information about the circulation, processes it and sends to the train’s driving cab the necessary indications for its circulation, among others, the speed.”
– Communications system. The line was equipped with an advanced communications system, whose focal point is the fibre optic cable laid along the tracks, integrated by a train-ground telephone system. The Madrid-Seville high-speed line was the origin of the current system.
This high-speed line brought with it the development of other technologies of its own. Among them, Da Vinci, an advanced integrated railway traffic management system. Developed by the Railway Infrastructure Manager, Adif, it allows remote and centralised control and management of all the systems and facilities of the railway lines. This technology has since been imported into many other markets, such as the London and Medellin underground networks, and the railway networks of Morocco and Lithuania.
In 1992, and according to Renfe data, more than 1.17 million passengers used high-speed services from the day of the line’s roll out until 31st December, with a monthly average of 164,000 passengers.
Refurbishment of the line
30 years later, the Madrid-Seville line continues providing a service and has been subjected to a rigorous maintenance plan during all these years. In fact, currently, the Railway Infrastructure Manager, Adif, is working on actions that guarantee the high safety standards that the line has offered since its commissioning. These actions are endowed with 650 million euros, financed at a rate of 55% by the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).
More specifically, the improvement works that are being carried out are:
– Implementation of the ERTMS (European Railway Traffic Management System), the most advanced train command and control system in the world that, although it is installed in the rest of the high-speed network managed by Adif AV, the Madrid-Seville line was not equipped with it since it did not exist when it was built. This system, which ensures European interoperability, was an EU initiative for railway signalling and communications to be compatible in all member countries.
– Renovation of signalling and telecommunications facilities. In addition to the aforementioned implementation of the ERTMS, the ASFA digital system will also be installed. There will be renovation of other facilities such as interlocks, train protection systems, object fall detectors or fixed telecommunications.
– Renovation of superstructure elements such as sleepers, ballast, or diversions.
– Comprehensive improvement of the infrastructure to condition its structures, tunnels, and grading and drainage systems.
– Replacement of elements of the overhead contact line (catenary) and video surveillance and security facilities.
“Throughout these 30 years, the line has undergone a rigorous maintenance plan to ensure high safety standards”
