AVE

AVE
	A Renfe C-102 next to a Renfe C-103
Main stations	Madrid Atocha, Barcelona Sants, Seville-Santa Justa, Zaragoza–Delicias, Málaga-María Zambrano
Other stations	Madrid Chamartín, Valencia-Joaquín Sorolla, Granada, Alicante Terminal, Valladolid-Campo Grande, A Coruña-San Cristóbal, Santiago de Compostela, Ourense, Córdoba Central, Castelló de la Plana
Fleet	22 S-100 ; 16 S-102 ; 26 S-103 ; 20 S-106 ; 25 S-112
Stations called at	52
Parent company	Renfe
Technical
Track gauge	Standard (1435 mm), some sections on Iberian (1668mm)
Electrification	25 kV AC (some sections on 3 kV DC network)
Length	3,973 km (2,469 mi)
Other
Website	https://www.renfe.com

Alta Velocidad Española (AVE) is a high-speed rail service operated by Renfe, 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 of Madrid, Córdoba and Seville. In addition to Renfe's use of the Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias-managed rail infrastructure in Spain, Renfe offers two AVE services partially in France, connecting respectively Barcelona-Lyon and Madrid-Marseille. Alta Velocidad Española translates to "Spanish High Speed", but the initials are also a play on the word ave, meaning "bird". AVE trains operate at speeds of up to 300 km/h (186 mph).

Services

As of 2024^[update] Renfe offers the following AVE services:

Eastern corridor

Madrid–Alicante via Cuenca, Albacete, and Villena (non-stop trains and trains with limited stops also scheduled).
Madrid–Castellón via Cuenca, Requena-Utiel and Valencia.
Madrid–Murcia via Elche and Orihuela (some trains arrive in Alicante and reverse to continue to Murcia).
Madrid–Valencia via Cuenca and Requena-Utiel (non-stop trains also scheduled).

Northeast corridor

Madrid–Barcelona via Guadalajara, Calatayud, Zaragoza, Lleida, and Tarragona (non stop trains and trains with selective stops are also scheduled).
Madrid–Figueres via Guadalajara, Calatayud, Zaragoza, Lleida, Tarragona, Barcelona and Girona (trains are scheduled with selective stops).
Madrid–Huesca via Guadalajara, Calatayud, Zaragoza, and Tardienta.

Northern corridor

Madrid–Gijón via Valladolid, Palencia, León and Oviedo.
Madrid–León via Segovia, Valladolid and Palencia.

Northwest corridor

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).

Southern corridor

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).

Cross-country

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.

International services

Source:

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's Puerta de Atocha, except for the Madrid–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 at Chamartín station. Madrid Atocha and Chamartín station are linked by Madrid Metro (Line 1) and Cercanías Madrid services but As of 2025^[update] not by any standard gauge lines, making it difficult for high speed trains to serve both.

Trains

There are several series of high-speed trains that run the AVE service:

S-100, manufactured by Alstom, based on the TGV family trains.
S-102, manufactured by Talgo and Bombardier, marketed globally as Talgo 350.
S-103, manufactured by Siemens, marketed globally under the brand Siemens Velaro.
S-106, manufactured by Talgo, marketed globally as Talgo AVRIL.
S-112, manufactured by Talgo and Bombardier, an improved version of the S-102 with a different seat layout.

A Talgo 350 train (Renfe Class 102) at Madrid Atocha station.
AVE train Talgo 350 (Renfe Class 102)
Talgo 350 train (Renfe Class 102) at Lleida Pirineus station
AVE "Alstom" (Renfe Class 100) trainset at Córdoba.
A RENFE AVE S-103 (Siemens Velaro E) at Figueres Vilafant railway station in 2013.
AVE Talgo Avril train (Renfe Class 106).

Unit	Top speed		Seating capacity	Number in Service	First built
Unit	km/h	mph	Seating capacity	Number in Service	First built
S-100	300	186	329	22	1991
S-102	350	220	318	16	2005
S-103	350	220	404	26	2007
S-106	380	240	> 500 735 (low cost version	20	2012
S-112	350	220	365	25	2010

Passenger usage

The still-growing network transported a record 43.8 million passengers in 2025. 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
2000s							2006	2007	2008	2009
2000s							4.878	5.559	11.461	11.250
2010s	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
2010s	10.851	12.563	12.101	14.697	17.967	19.428	20.352	21.108	21.332	22.370
2020s	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026	2027	2028	2029
2020s	7.603	12.282	23.562	31.784	39.019	43.786