AVE Trains in Spain
By 2010 Spain is set to become the world leader in railway transport in Europe with its current AVE high speed lines and new projects which are almost completed. It is estimated that by 2020 90% of the people living on mainland Spain will be within 50km of their nearest railway station.
Current plans underway include the southern corridor which is due to extend from Malaga to Granada and Badajoz in the south west, towards Cataluña in the north east reaching the French border; and towards the Basque country in the north linking with a line to Galicia, Leon and Asturias; and south east to Valencia passing through Cuenca linking to Albacete, Alicante and Murcia.
1,060 km of high speed line have already been laid and this will reach 1,621km by the end of this year.
New link from Malaga to Madrid and Antequera
The new AVE high speed train has been of great benefit to those located on the Costa del Sol with rail travel time from Madrid taking only 2 hours 30 minutes
The various fares are as follows:
| Single Fare | €76.10 peak times (hora llana)€68.52 other times (hora valle) |
| Return Fare | €121.70 peak times - €110.00 other times |
| Internet price | €30.40 single if purchased at least 15 days beforehand |
| Shuttle service(Tarifa Puente) | Last minute walk on service ideal for business travellers as no need to make reservation |
| Star Price(Tarifa Estrella) | Discounts of up to 40% if ticket is purchased 7 days beforehand (estimated fare €45.00 single) |
To make an booking online go to the Renfe website www.renfe.es and click on the "Venta del Billetes" in the upper right hand corner. When you have selected your station of origin, destination and travel dates click on "iniciar la busque-de la plazas" (ticket search).
An AVE line linking Almodovar del Rio in Cordoba with the Madrid-Seville line and Antequera is already open and reduces the Madrid-Malaga journey by 40 minutes and Granada by one hour 30 minutes. There is still 50km of line to be finished and three new stations have been built: Antequera Santa Ana, Puente Genil Herrera and Maria Zambrano in Malaga.
Antequera station will be the principal junction for Andalucia with two lines being widened to form connections between Madrid with Malaga and Granada and Algeciras to be faster than ever. The single fare from Malaga to Antequera is €10 if purchased on the internet and the journey time is 20 minutes.
Maria Zambrano Station in Malaga
The Puente Genil-Herrera station services a large region including Lucena, Herrera, Estepa, Osuna and Pedrera, with the most important being the new Maria Zambrano Railway Station in Malaga City.
This is five times larger than the old station and houses a new four star hotel with 222 rooms, a shopping mall with more than 100 retail outlets, cinema and leisure centre which is open 7 days a week throughout the year- The original 5 railway lines have been increased to 8 and there are regular buses (lines 10, 151 and 12), trains and taxi links as well as parking for 1,550 cars.
