Page 100 - Vía Libre Special - 25 Years of Spanish High Speed Rail

history
brake van

600 575 km/h
550 TGV
500 407 km/h 404 km/h
450 ICE AVE s/103
356 km/h
400 AVE s/100 362 km/h
350 331 km/h Talgo 350 Gif
BB9004 ALSTHOM
300
280
260
240
220
Speed (km/h) 200

180
160
140
120
100 Maximum speed Speed record
80
60 Spain Spain
France
France
40 Germany Germany
20
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1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016

pulled by the diesel engine 2005 “Virgen del Carmen”,
consisting of a first class carriage, a cafeteria car, and
two second class carriages between San Jerónimo
and Los Rosales, and carrying the personnel and the
equipment to study the effects of the trial. The peak
maximum speed was recorded at 180 km/h.
Five years later, in 1971, a Series 8900 electric
locomotive hit the same speed between Venta de
Baños and Burgos. And on May 20, 1972 in another
Talgo trial at which were present Gonzalo Fernán-
dez de la Mora (Minister of Public Works), Lozano
Vicente (President of Renfe), and José María de Oriol
(President of Talgo), a train was capable of reaching
222.022 km/h on the Madrid-Yunquera de Henares
section.
The first milestone speed of any international
relevance was not recorded until May 4, 1978 when
Spanish railways chalked up a world speed record
for diesel traction of 230 km/h (near Alcázar de San
Juan), achieved by a Talgo Pendular hauled by a 353
locomotive.
And finally, to finish on a high note, we should
Page of the Vía Libre journal reporting how, during a highlight the Spanish speed record posted many
Talgo test, a train managed to reach 222.022 km/h on years later when during some trials carried out early
the stretch between Madrid and Yunquera de Henares. in the early hours of the morning between July 15 and
16, 2006, train 103.002 recorded a speed of 403.7 km/h
As the infrastructure in Spain improved, so the at kilometre point 117.500 of the Madrid-Barcelona
possibility of reaching higher speeds grew. As Miguel AVE line. And this was a world record for standard
Cano reported in Vía Libre at the time, in the autumn trains.
of 1966, Talgo conducted a speed trial with a train Miguel Muñoz Rubio

100 Vía Libre • Special 25th Anniversary of the AVE Edition