Antequera–Granada high-speed rail line
High-speed railway line in Andalusia, Spain
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Antequera–Granada high-speed rail line opened in 2019, linking the Spanish city of Granada to the AVE network via a branch from the existing Madrid–Málaga high-speed rail line at Antequera.
| Antequera–Granada high-speed rail line | |
|---|---|
A Renfe class 114 train at Granada railway station | |
| Overview | |
| Status | Operational |
| Owner | Adif |
| Locale | Spain (Andalucia) |
| Termini | |
| Service | |
| Type | High-speed rail |
| Operator | Renfe Operadora |
| Ridership | 634,000 (2019-20)[1] |
| History | |
| Opened | 26 June 2019 |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 125.7 km (78.1 mi) |
| Number of tracks | Double track |
| Track gauge | Dual gauge (1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge 1,668 mm (5 ft 5+21⁄32 in) |
| Electrification | 25 kV 50 Hz |
| Operating speed | max 300 km/h (190 mph) |
Background
The 122.8 km (76.3 mi) line from Antequera to Granada[2] is a part of the under construction Andalusian Transverse Axis high-speed rail line. The three times per day AVE service between Madrid Atocha and Granada covers the distance of 568 km (353 mi) in 3 h 5 min. The daily AVE train between Granada and Barcelona Sants connects the two cities in 6 h 25 min. S-102 and S-112 (Pato, max speed 330 km/h (210 mph)) trains are used for these services and all trains call at Córdoba, offering a journey time of 90 min from Granada.[3] The total cost of building the line was €1.4 billion.[4]
Stations
After branching from the existing Antequera-Santa Ana railway station, the line serves Loja and Granada. In 2019, construction was set to begin on a €16 million underground AVE station in Antequera town centre, making Antequera the only city in Spain outside of Madrid to have two high-speed rail stops.[5]
Services
The line is used by AVE services to Madrid and one daily service to Barcelona. In November 2019, a daily patronage of 2,600 passengers using these services was reported.[6] Since December 2024 a daily Alvia service Madrid-Almeria via Granada on S-730 trains is using the line [7] In addition medium distance high speed Avant services connect Granada to Málaga and to Seville on trains calling at Loja and Antequera-Santa Ana.