A high-speed rail line between Madrid and Spain's third
largest city, Valencia, will open between Dec. 15 and 20, a government minister
said on Monday.
According to José Blanco, minister for transport and public
works, the first test train will run on the route on Oct. 13, with commercial
services to launch just over two months later.
The new line will cut journey time between the cities from 3
hours and 30 minutes to 90 minutes, according to Renfe, Spain's state-owned
rail company. Renfe added that it would carry 2.8 million passengers per year
on the route, operating between 13 and 17 daily departures, each with a
capacity of 365 seats, at speeds of up to 330 kilometers per hour.
Spain has invested heavily in high-speed rail in recent
years. It opened a Madrid-Barcelona service in 2008, which cut journey time
between the country's two largest cities from six hours to 2 hours and 38
minutes. Previously one of the world's busiest air routes, sources told BTN that most of the remaining air
traffic on the route is passengers transferring to long-haul services.
Another high-speed line is scheduled to open between Madrid
and Alicante next year.