Editing Rail transport in Spain (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of rail transport in Spain}}
The first railway line in the [[Iberian Peninsula]] was built in 1848 between [[Barcelona]] and [[Mataró]].<ref name="ch">[http://www.fomento.es/MFOM/LANG_EN/DIRECCIONES_GENERALES/FERROCARRILES/EFEMERIDES/ Significant events in the history of Spanish infrastructures and railways] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090904135658/http://www.fomento.es/MFOM/LANG_EN/DIRECCIONES_GENERALES/FERROCARRILES/EFEMERIDES/ |date=2009-09-04 }} ''www.fomento.es''. See also ''www.biada.com''</ref> In 1851 the [[Madrid]]-[[Aranjuez]] line was opened. In 1852 the first narrow-gauge line was built; in 1863 a line reached the Portuguese border.  By 1864 the [[Madrid–Hendaye railway|Madrid-Irún line]] had been opened, and the French border reached.<ref name="ch"/> In 1900 the first line to be electrified was La Poveda-Madrid.<ref>[http://ferrotransmadrid.blogspot.com.es/2012/07/el-primer-ferrocarril-electrificado-de.html/ Ferrotransmadrid] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012030011/http://ferrotransmadrid.blogspot.com.es/2012/07/el-primer-ferrocarril-electrificado-de.html |date=2013-10-12 }}</ref>

After the [[Spanish Civil War]], the Spanish railway system was in a state of disrepair due to the damage caused by the conflict. In 1941 [[Red Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Españoles|RENFE]] was created by nationalizing the private companies that had built and until then operated the network, leading to a state-owned rail network.<ref name="ch"/><ref name="The Guardian 2022">{{cite news |last= Gadhavi |first= Jasmine |date= 15 July 2022 |title= Spain announces free rail journeys from September until the end of the year |url= https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/jul/15/spain-announces-free-rail-journeys-from-september-until-the-end-of-the-year |work= The Guardian |access-date= 22 September 2022}}</ref>

By the 1950s, the Spanish rail network reached its historical maximum of almost 19,000 kilometers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bachiller |first=Carmen |date=2021-03-28 |title=El ferrocarril en España tiene un gran futuro, pero hay que dárselo apostando por las mercancías |url=https://www.eldiario.es/castilla-la-mancha/ferrocarril-espana-gran-futuro-hay-darselo-apostando-mercancias_130_7343515.html |access-date=2023-01-01 |website=elDiario.es |language=es}}</ref> However, from the mid-1950s onward, the network began to shrink due to the exponential increase in private vehicle ownership in Spain. During the [[Spanish economic miracle]] of the 1950s and 1960s, the number of private vehicles in Spain increased more than 14 times from the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s.<ref>J.L. García Ruiz, {{cite web |title=Barreiros Diesel y el desarrolo de la automoción en España |url=https://www.fundacionsepi.es/investigacion/publicaciones/DocumentosTrabajo/PHE/hdt2003.pdf}}</ref> This led to a decline in demand for rail transport and the closure of some rail lines that were no longer profitable. By 1993, almost 8,000 km of rail lines were dismantled.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Plaza |first=Analía |date=2021-02-22 |title=¿Cómo sería España si no hubieran desaparecido 7.600 kilómetros de vías de tren? |url=https://www.eldiario.es/economia/seria-espana-si-no-hubieran-desaparecido-7-600-kilometros-vias-tren-mapa-muestra_1_7241934.html |access-date=2023-01-01 |website=elDiario.es |language=es}}</ref> 

The last steam locomotive was withdrawn in 1975, and in 1986 the maximum speed on the railways was raised to 160&nbsp;km/h, and in 1992 the Madrid-Seville high-speed line opened,<ref name="ch"/> beginning the process of building a nationwide high-speed network known as [[AVE|AVE (Alta Velocidad España)]].

The current plans of the Spanish government are to finish the standard-gauge high-speed network by building new sections of track and upgrading and converting to standard gauge the existing line along the Mediterranean coast connecting the ports of Barcelona, Tarragona, Valencia, Cartagena and Almería, to link Madrid with Vigo, Santiago and A Coruña in Galicia, to extend the Madrid-Valladolid line to Burgos and the Basque cities of Bilbao and San Sebastián, and to [[Hendaye]] on the French border, as well as to link Madrid with Lisbon and the port of Sines through Badajoz. Former plans by the Popular Party government under Prime Minister Aznar to link all provincial capitals with high-speed rail have been shelved as unrealistic, unaffordable, and contrary to all economic logic as no European funding would be made available for such projects.

Following the opening of the AVE network, the classic Iberian gauge railways have lost importance in inter-city travel, for example, the [[Madrid–Barcelona railway]] takes over nine hours to travel between the two cities stopping at every station. With the [[Madrid–Barcelona high-speed rail line]], the longest possible journey is just three hours.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://horariospdf.renfe.com/HIRRenfeWeb/trenesPdf.do?O=BARCE&D=MADRI&F=31-08-2019&ID=s|title=Horarios PDF - Renfe.com|website=Renfe|access-date=31 August 2019}}</ref> This has allowed the conventional lines to increase focus on regional and commuter traffic, along with freight. Some lines, including the [[Córdoba, Spain|Córdoba]]-[[Bobadilla, Antequera|Bobadilla]] section of the classic [[Córdoba–Málaga railway]], have lost passenger traffic completely due to the opening of AVE serving the same destinations.

Many important mainland Spanish towns remain disconnected from the rail network, the largest being [[Marbella]] with a population of over 140,000, along with [[Roquetas de Mar]] (pop. 96,800), [[El Ejido]] (pop. 84,000), [[Torrevieja]] (pop. 83,000) and [[Mijas]] (pop. 82,000). Other towns and municipalities are not on the national rail network but linked to light rail or metro systems, such as [[Santa Coloma de Gramanet]], [[Province of Barcelona|Barcelona]] (pop. 118,000); [[Chiclana de la Frontera]], [[Province of Cádiz|Cádiz]] (pop. 83,000);  [[Torrent, Valencia|Torrent]], [[Valencia]] (pop. 83,000); [[Getxo]], [[Biscay]] (pop. 78,000); and [[Benidorm]], [[Province of Alicante|Alicante]] (pop. 70,000).

Starting in [[Francisco Franco|Franco]]'s regime and continuing into the 1980s, multiple lines of the Spanish rail network were closed. Campaigns for reopening former lines exist, including a reopening the branch to the aforementioned Torrevieja from the Alicante–Murcia main line;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theleader.info/2018/05/15/wait-goes-torrevieja-railway/|title=The wait goes on for the Torrevieja Railway|website=www.theleader.info|date=15 May 2019}}</ref> the former line from [[Guadix]] to [[Lorca, Spain|Lorca]] via [[Baza, Granada|Baza]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.granadahoy.com/granada/Concentracion-tren-Andalucia-Murcia-Espana-vaciada_0_1423957743.html|title=Concentración en Baza para pedir el tren entre Andalucía y Murcia y combatir la España vaciada|website=Granada Hoy|date=31 December 2019|access-date=4 April 2020|language=es}}</ref> (which would provide a direct rail link from [[Murcia]] to [[Granada]]); [[Plasencia]] to [[Salamanca]]<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.lagacetadesalamanca.es/provincia/la-junta-de-extremadura-reclama-ahora-reabrir-la-linea-ferroviaria-sin-vias-de-plasencia-a-salamanca-IG901039|title=La Junta de Extremadura reclama ahora reabrir la línea ferroviaria sin vías de Plasencia a Salamanca|website=La Gaceta de Salamanca|date=9 April 2019|access-date=4 April 2020}}</ref> and [[Gandía]] to [[Dénia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lamarinaplaza.com/2020/03/12/todo-el-pp-de-la-marina-alta-pacta-una-estacion-para-el-tren-denia-gandia-que-este-en-la-xara/|title= Todo el PP de la Marina Alta pacta una estación para el tren Dénia-Gandia que esté en La Xara|website=La Marina Plaza|date=12 March 2020|access-date=4 April 2020|language=es}}</ref>

Since 2007 the operation of freight lines was liberalised and has been open to private operators. Renfe was split in two companies ([[Renfe]], a public company that operates freight and passenger lines, and [[Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias|ADIF]], a public company that manages the infrastructure for all public and private operators).

In 2020, long-distance passenger lines were likewise opened to private operators. [[Ouigo España]] began service on the Madrid–Barcelona route in 2021, joined by [[Iryo]] in 2022.

From 1 September to 31 December 2022 Spain has made free train tickets available under certain conditions. A €10 to €20 deposit must be placed and the scheme is only available on multi-trip tickets or season tickets, rather than singles. 16 or more train journeys must be made between the aforementioned dates in order to receive a full refund.<ref name="Euronews 2022">{{cite news |last= Frost |first= Rosie |date= 1 September 2022 |title= Spain launches free train tickets throughout autumn, thanks to a windfall tax |url= https://www.euronews.com/travel/2022/09/01/spain-short-and-medium-distance-trains-will-be-free-this-autumn-thanks-to-a-windfall-tax |work= Euronews |access-date= 22 September 2022}}</ref> The full refund is available on commuter journeys and medium-distance journeys of under 300&nbsp;km (186 miles).<ref name="The Guardian 2022" /> The initiative is being funded through a [[windfall tax]] on banks and energy companies that have made profits from interest rates and energy prices. The tax will be introduced in 2023 and is estimated to raise up to €7&nbsp;billion in two years. Money raised from the tax will also be used to build 12,000 new homes and fund youth scholarship programmes.<ref name="Euronews 2022" />