Rail Transportation in Spain

Trains to the Future

When Spanish rails were first placed, in the 1800s, they were significantly wider than the tracks in France and the rest of Europe, walling the country off from its neighbors. In the 1960s, however, RENFE decided to operate trains that could easily move to French lines. To meet this need, Talgo designed its signature variable-gauge trains, which can switch from one gauge width to another. The company has Researchers study the best ways to improve the performance of high speed trains. been operating such trains between Madrid and Paris since 1968. For the new high-speed lines, the Spanish government decided to build the entire system on standard tracks to facilitate travel to neighboring European countries. Both Talgo and CAF came up with solutions for automatic systems that allow trains to switch between gauges without coming to a complete stop. In both systems, the change–which in the past took up to an hour–takes only about four seconds.

Meanwhile, both CAF and Talgo have developed different types of proprietary technology in what are called “tilting” trains. Tilting technology detects where and when the track curves, and it enables the train to lean into the center of the curve. Tilting allows even conventional trains to travel faster through these parts of the track.

By introducing aluminum bodies for trains in place of conventional steel, Talgo also cut the weight of the cars by about 30 percent, significantly reducing energy needs. This strategy has since been adopted by other high-speed manufacturers. Today, train companies are investigating the use of composites, which are already widespread in the aerospace industry. A CAF train under development has a composite floor, which reduces the weight of this component by a full 70 percent. Talgo, which also has projects involving composites, is now looking into hybrid and solar-powered cars as well.

CAF heads a research project partially funded by the Spanish Ministry of Industry, in consortium with six companies and nine research centers, that seeks to improve the interoperability, energy efficiency, speed, and comfort of high-speed trains. Called AVI-2015, the project is focusing on improving the trains’ tilting properties, adapting their shape to make them more aerodynamic, and finding more efficient ways for trains to run on different voltages of electricity. CAF expects that these improvements will allow high-speed trains to run efficiently and comfortably on standard train tracks as well.

CAF is also working to improve its trains for tram and light rail, a significant part of the company’s business. It’s developing trams that have energy storage systems on board, eliminating the need for wires that run above the trains along the outdoor tracks. This is especially important in historic areas with monuments and cathedrals, says Javier Goikoetxea, CAF’s research project coördinator: “Many citizens complain about power lines in these regions.” The new systems will also save infrastructure costs for Spanish companies utilize cutting-edge materials and technologies to achieve a faster, safer, and more comfortable ride. photo courtesy of talgo local governments. The company has won recent tram contracts in Edinburgh, Scotland, and in Antalya, Turkey. Spanish train companies’ research and innovations extend to infrastructure development as well. For the Guadarrama tunnel north of Madrid—the country’s longest, and the first of this length in the world to have no intermediate ventilation shaft—the company Zitron designed a completely new ventilation system. It uses a series of tubes, improved aerodynamic fans, and air curtains–a pneumatic closure system using jets of air–to push fresh air through the tunnel.

“We’ve developed a very sophisticated system, and people from all over the world have visited, as it’s something quite new,” says Zitron’s Pedro Quiros. The company has won railway ventilation contracts in Australia, Africa, Europe, and the U.S. The construction of tunnels for high-speed rail “is without doubt one of the most complicated aspects of rail infrastructure,” said Manuel Arnáiz Ronda, the president of the Spanish Association of Tunnels and Subterranean Civil Works, at a recent meeting in Spain. But Spain, he said, is “one of the top in the field,” thanks to the years of experience its construction companies have gained in boring through challenging geological structures and navigating around urban obstacles. ACS Dragados, which is involved in the Guadarrama tunnel, capitalized on that experience to win the bid for the expansion of the New York City subway, in partnership with an American company. ACS Dragados is constructing east-side access tunnels, using two hard-rock boring machines it owns. These are the first tunnels to be built in the subway system in 25 years, and the first ever to be built with boring machines. The system draws on the same techniques the company used to bore under the Pyrenees.