LNW-GW Joint
Veteran Member
Some questions on Spanish infrastructure following a quick tour of Spain last week.
I travelled on the Euromed service between Alacant, Valencia and Barcelona, and it was a dual-system Alvia Talgo S-130 high speed tilting train.
It ran on the broad gauge route the whole way, not on any of the LVE infrastructure which exists in some parts of the route.
All the speed signs on classic track appear to peak at 160km/h. How are the higher speeds of Talgo trains signed?
There are usually 3 differential speed limits displayed on signs. Do Talgo trains take the highest speed, MUs the middle and locos the lowest?
I could be persuaded that some of the route between Alacant and Valencia allows higher speeds than 160km/h, as we travelled at a good lick on this section.
Between Xativa and Valencia the parallel new LVE line (2 tracks) looks finished and ready for service.
West of Xativa to the existing Madrid-Alacant LVE, only a single LVE line is under construction (on a 2-track formation), with some incomplete infrastructure.
A lot of expensive infrastructure is being built, for very few trains.
North of Valencia, I looked for signs of dual gauge track which is supposed to be being installed for standard gauge freight to reach Valencia from the French border.
The line nearest the coast is said to be fitted with a standard gauge rail, but as we were travelling on that track it was impossible to see if that was the case.
I did see at one point that the country-side track had been dualled (around Pucol), and there was a work site where a dual gauge switch was being assembled - a complicated beast.
But there was no real sign of dual gauge operations, which must be very restrictive with only one track available.
The infrastructure either side of Tarragona also seems very limited (long single track sections), and there seemed no sign of an upgrade in progress, let alone the planned LVE route.
I broke my trip north at Girona, and discovered the coastal track there was indeed dual gauge through the station (the standard gauge rail was rusty of course).
Further north was a direct link into the standard-gauge LVE route through the Pyrennees.
Nevertheless, car-carrying freight trains, which are part of the business plan for the dualling project, are still evidently using the old route via Port Bou.
It's quite difficult to gauge (sic) progress on this ambitious dualling project.
Does anyone have a more detailed update?
I travelled on the Euromed service between Alacant, Valencia and Barcelona, and it was a dual-system Alvia Talgo S-130 high speed tilting train.
It ran on the broad gauge route the whole way, not on any of the LVE infrastructure which exists in some parts of the route.
All the speed signs on classic track appear to peak at 160km/h. How are the higher speeds of Talgo trains signed?
There are usually 3 differential speed limits displayed on signs. Do Talgo trains take the highest speed, MUs the middle and locos the lowest?
I could be persuaded that some of the route between Alacant and Valencia allows higher speeds than 160km/h, as we travelled at a good lick on this section.
Between Xativa and Valencia the parallel new LVE line (2 tracks) looks finished and ready for service.
West of Xativa to the existing Madrid-Alacant LVE, only a single LVE line is under construction (on a 2-track formation), with some incomplete infrastructure.
A lot of expensive infrastructure is being built, for very few trains.
North of Valencia, I looked for signs of dual gauge track which is supposed to be being installed for standard gauge freight to reach Valencia from the French border.
The line nearest the coast is said to be fitted with a standard gauge rail, but as we were travelling on that track it was impossible to see if that was the case.
I did see at one point that the country-side track had been dualled (around Pucol), and there was a work site where a dual gauge switch was being assembled - a complicated beast.
But there was no real sign of dual gauge operations, which must be very restrictive with only one track available.
The infrastructure either side of Tarragona also seems very limited (long single track sections), and there seemed no sign of an upgrade in progress, let alone the planned LVE route.
I broke my trip north at Girona, and discovered the coastal track there was indeed dual gauge through the station (the standard gauge rail was rusty of course).
Further north was a direct link into the standard-gauge LVE route through the Pyrennees.
Nevertheless, car-carrying freight trains, which are part of the business plan for the dualling project, are still evidently using the old route via Port Bou.
It's quite difficult to gauge (sic) progress on this ambitious dualling project.
Does anyone have a more detailed update?
