HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Rail transport in
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
operates on four
rail gauge In rail transport, track gauge is the distance between the two rails of a railway track. All vehicles on a rail network must have wheelsets that are compatible with the track gauge. Since many different track gauges exist worldwide, gauge dif ...
s and services are operated by a variety of private and public operators. Total railway length in 2020 was 15,489 km (9,953 km electrified). The Spanish high-speed rail network is the longest HSR network in Europe with 3,973 km (2,464 mi) and the second longest in the world, after
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
's. Most trains are operated by
Renfe Renfe (, ), officially Renfe-Operadora, is Spain's national state-owned railway company. It was created in 2005 upon the split of the former Spanish National Railway Network (RENFE) into the Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias ( ...
; metre and narrow-gauge trains are operated by the Renfe Cercanías AM division. Local publicly-owned operators include Euskotren in the Basque Country, FGC in Catalonia and Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca in the Balearic Islands. High speed train operators other than Renfe include Ouigo and
Iryo Iryo is the brand of ''Intermodalidad de Levante S.A.'' (ILSA), a private high-speed rail operator in Spain. The company is jointly owned by the Italian state-owned railway company Trenitalia (51%), the Spanish regional airline Air Nostrum (25%), ...
. It is proposed and planned to build or convert more lines to standard gauge, including some dual gauging of broad-gauge lines, especially where these lines link to
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, including platforms to be raised. Spain is a member of the
International Union of Railways The International Union of Railways (, UIC) is an international rail transport industry body based in Paris. History The railways of Europe had originated during the nineteenth century as many separate concerns across numerous nations; this le ...
(UIC). The UIC Country Code for Spain is 71.


History

The first railway line in the
Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...
was built in 1848 between
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
and
Mataró Mataró () is the capital and largest town of the Maresme county in Catalonia, Spain. It is located on the Costa del Maresme, Maresme coast, to the south of Costa Brava, between Cabrera de Mar and Sant Andreu de Llavaneres, north-east of Barcel ...
.Significant events in the history of Spanish infrastructures and railways
''www.fomento.es''. See also ''www.biada.com''
In 1851 the
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
-
Aranjuez Aranjuez () is a city and municipality of Spain, part of the Community of Madrid. Located in the southern end of the region, the main urban nucleus lies on the left bank of the Tagus, a bit upstream of the discharge of the Jarama. , the munici ...
line was opened. In 1852 the first narrow-gauge line was built; in 1863 a line reached the Portuguese border. By 1864 the Madrid-Irún line had been opened, and the French border reached. In 1900 the first line to be electrified was La Poveda-Madrid. After the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
, the Spanish railway system was in a state of disrepair due to the damage caused by the conflict. In 1941
RENFE Renfe (, ), officially Renfe-Operadora, is Spain's national state-owned railway company. It was created in 2005 upon the split of the former Spanish National Railway Network (RENFE) into the Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias ( ...
was created by nationalizing the private companies that had built and until then operated the network, leading to a state-owned rail network. By the 1950s, the Spanish rail network reached its historical maximum of almost 19,000 kilometers. 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. 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. The last steam locomotive was withdrawn in 1975, and in 1986 the maximum speed on the railways was raised to 160 km/h, and in 1992 the Madrid-Seville high-speed line opened, beginning the process of building a nationwide high-speed network known as 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 Hendaye (; Basque: ''Hendaia'',HENDAIA
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. This has allowed the conventional lines to increase focus on regional and commuter traffic, along with freight. Some lines, including the Córdoba- 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 Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the re ...
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,
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
(pop. 118,000); Chiclana de la Frontera,
Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...
(pop. 83,000); Torrent,
Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...
(pop. 83,000);
Getxo Getxo () (Spanish: ''Guecho'') is a town located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, in Spain. It is part of Greater Bilbao, and has 75,430 inhabitants (2023). Getxo ...
,
Biscay Biscay ( ; ; ), is a province of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the Bay of Biscay, eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilb ...
(pop. 78,000); and
Benidorm Benidorm ( , , ) is a municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Known as the “New York City, New York of the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean”, Benidorm has been a tourist destinatio ...
,
Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...
(pop. 70,000). Starting in 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; the former line from
Guadix Guadix (, ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in southern Spain, in the Granada (province), province of Granada. The city lies at an altitude of 913 metres, in the centre of the Hoya of Guadix, a high plain at the northern footh ...
to Lorca via Baza (which would provide a direct rail link from
Murcia Murcia ( , , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the Capital (political), capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the Ranked lists of Spanish municipalities#By population, seventh largest city i ...
to
Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...
); Plasencia to
Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...
and Gandía to
Dénia Dénia (; ) is a historical coastal city in the province of Alicante, Spain, on the Costa Blanca halfway between Alicante and Valencia (city in Spain), Valencia, and the capital and judicial seat of the Comarques of the Valencian Community, ''c ...
. Since 2007 the operation of freight lines was liberalised and has been open to private operators. Renfe was split in two companies (
Renfe Renfe (, ), officially Renfe-Operadora, is Spain's national state-owned railway company. It was created in 2005 upon the split of the former Spanish National Railway Network (RENFE) into the Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias ( ...
, a public company that operates freight and passenger lines, and 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 Iryo is the brand of ''Intermodalidad de Levante S.A.'' (ILSA), a private high-speed rail operator in Spain. The company is jointly owned by the Italian state-owned railway company Trenitalia (51%), the Spanish regional airline Air Nostrum (25%), ...
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. The full refund is available on commuter journeys and medium-distance journeys of under 300 km (186 miles). 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 billion in two years. Money raised from the tax will also be used to build 12,000 new homes and fund youth scholarship programmes.


High speed network

High speed rail was first proposed in Spain in the 1980s, joining the Meseta Central and Andalusia. The first line, joining Madrid and Seville, was opened in 1992, in time for the
Seville Expo '92 The Universal Exhibition of Seville 1992 – Expo '92 (officially: ) was a universal exhibition held from Monday 20 April to Monday 12 October 1992, at the , in Seville, Spain. The theme for the expo was "The Age of Discoveries", celebrating the ...
. The line was built on standard gauge, and reused segments of the existing Madrid-Ciudad Real line. After that, connections with Barcelona, Valencia, Málaga and Galicia were subsequently opened. The current network is in length, the longest in
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
and the second longest in the world, after China. The network sees a multitude of services, operated by three companies under a multitude of brands. Renfe operates services under the
AVE is a Latin word, used by the Roman Empire, Romans as a salutation (greeting), salutation and greeting, meaning 'wikt:hail, hail'. It is the singular imperative mood, imperative form of the verb , which meant 'Well-being, to be well'; thus on ...
brand for high speed long distance services, AVANT for high-speed mid distance, and ALVIA and Euromed for services that change gauges. The French operator
SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (, , SNCF ) is France's national State-owned enterprise, state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the Rail transport in France, country's national rail traffic along with th ...
runs international services under the inOui brand and national services under the Ouigo low-cost brand.
Iryo Iryo is the brand of ''Intermodalidad de Levante S.A.'' (ILSA), a private high-speed rail operator in Spain. The company is jointly owned by the Italian state-owned railway company Trenitalia (51%), the Spanish regional airline Air Nostrum (25%), ...
operates several high speed services. The current network is divided into many lines, which mostly branch out of Madrid: * Atlantic Corridor, which connects Madrid Chamartín station with most of the northeastern part of the peninsula. The first lines in this corridor were opened in 2011. This corridor includes lines to Galicia, Asturias and Castile and Leon. It's currently undergoing extensions to Cantabria through Palencia and to the Basque country through Burgos, both expected to open by 2027. * Northeast corridor, which includes the Madrid–Barcelona–French border line and the Zaragoza–Huesca branch. The Madrid-Zaragoza-Lleida segment opened in 2003, and the rest of the line was opened in stages from 2006 to 2013, when it reached the border. * East corridor, connecting Madrid with Valencia and Alicante through Cuenca and Albacete. First opened in 2010, with the last segment opening in 2013. * Mediterranean corridor, mostly under construction. It's part of the larger TEN-T Mediterranean corridor, and it runs mostly parallel to the Mediterranean coast from the port of Algeciras to the French border at Figueres. Currently, only two stretches are opened: Castelló de la Plana to Valencia in a mixed gauge configuration and Alicante to Murcia. The rest of the line is planned to open in several stages from 2025 onwards. * Cantabrian-Mediterranean corridor. Roughly parallel to the Ebro river, it will eventually join the Basque Country and Cantabria with the Mediterranean coast, joining the Madrid–Barcelona line at Zaragoza. * South corridor, which includes all lines connecting Madrid with Andalusia. This includes the Madrid–Seville line, the Córdoba–Antequera–Málaga line, the Antequera–Granada, the Seville-Cadiz line and the future Antequera–Seville line, which will connect Malaga and Granada with Seville. It also includes a spur line to Toledo. * The Southwest corridor, still mostly under construction, which will eventually move passengers between Madrid, Lisbon and cities in between, and which will take over the spur from Toledo as the starting point of the mainline. Except for the Mediterranean and Cantabrian-Mediterranean corridors, all lines start from the two Madrid terminals, Atocha and Chamartin, which are connected by a crosstown tunnel. The high speed network not only sees purely high-speed trains, as Alvia and Euromed services use gauge-changing rolling stock to be able to reach destinations not in the high speed network. As such, cities like San Sebastian and Bilbao in the Basque country, Gijón and Oviedo in Asturias or Pamplona in Navarre see services running on the high speed network for some stretches.


Operators

*
Renfe Renfe (, ), officially Renfe-Operadora, is Spain's national state-owned railway company. It was created in 2005 upon the split of the former Spanish National Railway Network (RENFE) into the Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias ( ...
is a
state-owned State ownership, also called public ownership or government ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, property, or enterprise by the national government of a country or state, or a public body representing a community, as opposed to ...
company which operates freight and passenger trains on the " Iberian gauge",
standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...
and rail networks of the Spanish nationalized infrastructure company ADIF (). Both were formed from the break-up of the former national carrier Renfe (Spanish: ''
Red Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Españoles Red Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Españoles (RENFE) was a Spain, Spanish State-owned enterprise, state-owned company that operated the national Iberian-gauge railways, Iberian-gauge railway network between 1941 and 2005. For more than six decade ...
'', "Spanish National Railway Network") and subsequently of FEVE (, "Narrow-Gauge Spanish Railways"). File:Train station, Zamora (Spain).jpg, Zamora station File:Toledo railwaystation 01.jpg, Toledo station File:Atocha Station, Madrid.jpg, Atocha station, Madrid File:Valencia dworzec.jpg, Estació del Nord, Valencia File:Estacio Lleida-Pirineus.jpg, Lleida-Pirineus station * Ouigo España is a subsidiary of the French company
SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (, , SNCF ) is France's national State-owned enterprise, state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the Rail transport in France, country's national rail traffic along with th ...
that operates long-range passenger trains on high-speed lines. *
Iryo Iryo is the brand of ''Intermodalidad de Levante S.A.'' (ILSA), a private high-speed rail operator in Spain. The company is jointly owned by the Italian state-owned railway company Trenitalia (51%), the Spanish regional airline Air Nostrum (25%), ...
is the brand of ILSA, a Spanish-Italian company formed by
Air Nostrum Air Nostrum (doing business as Iberia Regional) is a Spanish regional airline based in Valencia that merged with CityJet in 2023, forming the region's largest aviation holding company, Strategic Alliance of Regional Airlines (SARA). An affiliate ...
and
Trenitalia Trenitalia Società per azioni, SpA is the primary train operator of Italy. A subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, itself owned by the Italian government. It was established in 2000 following a European Union directive on the deregulati ...
that also operates long-range passenger trains on high-speed lines. Renfe, OUIGO and Iryo have all competed on several high-speed lines owned by ADIF after the liberalization of long-range passenger rail transport. * Euskotren (, Spanish: ''Ferrocarriles Vascos'', "Basque Railways") operates trains on part of the narrow-gauge railway network in the Basque Country. * FGC (, "Catalan Government Railways") operates several unconnected lines in
Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...
. It operates of
narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curv ...
, of
standard-gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...
, and of Iberian-gauge routes, two
metre-gauge Metre-gauge railways ( US: meter-gauge railways) are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. Metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by several European colonial powers including France, Britain and ...
rack railway A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with ...
s and four funicular railways. * FGV (, "Valencian Government Railways") operates several metre-gauge lines in the
Valencian Community The Valencian Community is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wit ...
. * FS (Catalan: ''Ferrocarril de Sóller'', " Sóller Railways") operates an electrified narrow-gauge railway on the Spanish island of
Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...
between the towns of Palma and Sóller. * SFM (Catalan: ''Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca'', "Majorcan Railway Servicies") operates the metre-gauge railway network on the
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
island of
Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...
. * Acciona Rail Services, a subsidiary of
Acciona Acciona, S.A. () is a Spanish multinational conglomerate dedicated to the development and management of infrastructure (construction, water, industrial and services) and renewable energy. The company, via subsidiary Acciona Energía, produces 21 ...
, operates a coal cargo line between
Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...
and the
province of León León (, ; ; ; ) is a province of northwestern Spain in the northern part of the Region of León and in the northwestern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. About one quarter of its population of 463,746 (2018) lives in the c ...
. * COMSA Rail Transport, a subsidiary of COMSA, operates a cargo line from the Port of
Gijón Gijón () or () is a city and municipality in north-western Spain. It is the largest city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality by population in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Asturias. It is located on the coa ...
to
Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...
. * Continental Rail is dedicated to bringing materials into the gorges of the high-speed lines in progress.


Lines


Conventional Iberian-gauge lines

* Alcázar de San Juan–Cádiz railway * Algeciras-Bobadilla railway *
Barcelona–Cerbère railway The Barcelona–Cerbère railway is a railway line linking Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain to Cerbère in France. It is served by the Rodalies de Catalunya commuter network, Renfe regional, MD, AVE, Avlo and Avant train services, and TGV trains. Th ...
* Casetas–Bilbao railway * Chinchilla–Cartagena railway * Córdoba–Málaga railway * León–A Coruña railway * Linares Baeza–Almería railway * Madrid–Barcelona railway * Madrid−Aranda−Burgos (mostly non-operational) * Madrid–Hendaye railway * Madrid–Valencia railway * Madrid−Valencia de Alcántara railway * Valencia−Sant Vicenç de Calders railway * Venta de Baños–Gijón railway * Huelva–Seville railway


High-speed standard-gauge lines


Operational

* Antequera–Granada high-speed rail line *
Atlantic Axis high-speed rail line The Atlantic Axis high-speed rail line, also called Atlantic Corridor high-speed rail line, is a High-speed rail, high-speed railway line that links A Coruña, Santiago de Compostela, Pontevedra and Vigo in Spain. The Atlantic Axis was inaugurate ...
* Madrid–Barcelona high-speed rail line * Perpignan–Barcelona high-speed rail line (Figueres-Barcelona section) * Madrid–Asturias high-speed rail line * Madrid–Levante high-speed rail network (Madrid–Valencia, Madrid–Alicante) * Madrid–Málaga high-speed rail line *
Madrid–Seville high-speed rail line The Madrid–Sevilla high-speed line (NAFA or ''Nuevo Acceso Ferroviario a Andalucía'') is a Spanish railway line for high-speed traffic between Madrid and Seville. The first Spanish high-speed rail connection has been in use since 21 April 1 ...
* Madrid–Galicia high-speed rail line


Narrow-gauge lines

In Spain there is an extensive 1,250 km (780 mi) system of
metre-gauge Metre-gauge railways ( US: meter-gauge railways) are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. Metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by several European colonial powers including France, Britain and ...
railways.


Metro/light-rail systems

*
Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...
(
Alicante Tram The Alicante Tram, trademarked as Alicante Metropolitan TRAM (, ), operates in the Spain, Spanish city of Alicante (Valencian Community) and its surrounding area. Like other narrow gauge railways in the Valencian Community, it is run by Ferrocar ...
) *
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
(
Barcelona Metro The Barcelona Metro (Catalan language, Catalan and Spanish language, Spanish: ) is a rapid transit network that runs mostly underground in central Barcelona and into the city's suburbs. It is part of the larger public transport system ...
/Trams in Barcelona, Tram) * Bilbao (Bilbao Metro/Bilbao tram, Tram) * Cádiz (Cádiz Bay tram-train) * A Coruña. Started services in 1997 but was dismantled in 2011. *
Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...
(Granada Metro). * Jaén, Spain, Jaén (Jaén Tram) built in 2011 but without service for political reasons. *
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
(Madrid Metro) * Málaga (Malaga Metro, Málaga Metro) *
Murcia Murcia ( , , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the Capital (political), capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the Ranked lists of Spanish municipalities#By population, seventh largest city i ...
(Murcia tram) * Palma, Majorca, Palma (Palma de Mallorca Metro, Palma Metro) * Parla (Parla Tram) * Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Tenerife Tram) *San Sebastián (San Sebastián Metro) * Seville (Seville Metro/MetroCentro (Seville), Tram) * Valencia (city in Spain), Valencia (Metrovalencia) * Vélez-Málaga (Vélez-Málaga Tram) opened in 2006, closed 2012 * Vitoria-Gasteiz (Vitoria-Gasteiz tram) * Zaragoza (Zaragoza tram, Zaragoza Tram)


Rail links with adjacent countries

Andorra has no rail system (the closest station to Andorra is the French station of Andorre-L'Hospitalet station). The British overseas territory of Gibraltar also lacks a rail system. Spain has railway connections with
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and Rail transport in Portugal, Portugal. Neither Rail transport in Andorra, Andorra nor the British Overseas territory of Gibraltar have rail systems, though a link to Andorra has been proposed. The Rail transport in Morocco, Moroccan rail network is neither connected to the Iberian Peninsula (although Strait of Gibraltar crossing, an undersea tunnel has been proposed) nor to the Spanish autonomous cities of Melilla and Ceuta (respectively closest to the Moroccan stations of Nador Railway stations, Beni Ansar and Tangier-Med).


France

Trains can cross the border at Irun, Irún–
Hendaye Hendaye (; Basque: ''Hendaia'',HENDAIA