New high-speed trains connect the north and east of Spain
3 August, 2022Renfe's high-speed rail network launched routes connecting the north and east of the Spain since July 1st. The trains use the new Adif AV tunnel that connects Madrid Chamartín and Torrejón de Velasco, creating a direct high-speed link between the north and the Community of Valencia.
This new infrastructure will shorten average journey times by around 20 minutes, depending on the route and service. Additionally, Renfe’s new scheduling has renovated the service that connected Gijón with Alicante and had not been running since the beginning of the COVID-19 health crisis.
The running of these services through the new tunnel with a stop in Chamartín allows for a connecting route between Asturias (Oviedo, Gijón) and Valencia (Alicante, Valencia, Castellón), and Cantabria (Santander, Torrelavega) and Alicante, with intermediate stops at stations in the provinces of Castilla León (Valladolid, Palencia, León) and Castilla La Mancha (Cuenca, Albacete).
With the launch of the new tunnel, Renfe replaces the Alvia train between Gijón and Alicante, and Asturias regains access to the route for the first time since 2020, when it was stopped due to the health crisis.