An AVE entering Ourense via the Mio viaduct Saints M. Amile
High-speed connection may be more profitable with more carriers and frequencies
04 January 2023 . Updated at 05:00h.
The network statement of the ADIF for 2023, the document which should serve as a reference for companies interested in operating on the Spanish railway network, provides data revealing the operating deficit of the Madrid-Galicia high-speed line, which is being managed well below its effective capacity despite the increase in frequencies caused by the entry into operation a year ago of the last major section between Pedralba (Zamora) and Ourense. Thus, the line between the Medina del Campo bifurcation and Taboadela, i.e. the branch that leaves for Galicia from the main Madrid-Valladolid line, has a capacity of 72 furrows, of which the current rail traffic uses only 22. Paths refer to the average daily capacity available in both directions for a standard day.
These data obtained in September 2022 show that, despite the boost given by the completion of the line —the one that grew the most in circulation in 2022, over 75%—, It is only being used to 31% of its capacity and, therefore, there will be 49 slots available that Renfe increases frequencies —perhaps with the commissioning of Avril trains— or that ADIF decides to open the line to competition as it has already done with three other major high-speed accesses.
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However, the capacity of the branch that starts from Olmedo and Medina del Campo is much lower than that of other lines such as the one that connects Madrid with Barcelona or Valencia. This is mainly due to the fact that the Galician line has a series of technical characteristics, almost unique in the Spanish high-speed network, which clearly limit its potential. In this case, It is the single track sections that most condition the potential of the line.a legacy that dates back to the times of the financial crisis, when the then Ministry of Public Works chaired by Ana Pastor decided to exploit 68 kilometers in single track between Medina del Campo and Coreses and another 10 between Zamora and La Hiniesta.
Bottleneck
Furthermore, the route between Pedralba and Vilavella (35 kilometres) still needs to be doubled, conditioned by the adaptation to high speed of the second tube of the Padornelo tunnel, as well as by the elimination of the bottleneck between Taboadela and Ourense (16.5 kilometres), so that work has already begun on the Ourense railway variant, which avoids crossing this conventional single-track section with a third wire to circulate the international gauge AVE. These two projects are ongoing, but it seems that the Ministry of Transport is not in favor of the development of the Castilian-Leo sections for the moment. The level of congestion in the stations also affects the calculation of the overall capacity of the line.
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The Madrid-Valladolid section —where all northbound trains run— is even less used (26%), although it has more potential routes than the Galician branch (198 against 72) as it has all double track layouts.
In the traffic increase calculations, the ADIF expects a sustained growth of between 10 and 15% for the Galician line for the years 2023 and 2024, perhaps taking into account the incorporation of the Avril trains into the operation of the line. .
No deadline to open the new rail access to competition
Recently there has been almost no news of a possible opening to the free market of the high-speed line to Galicia and its Madrid-Valladolid section. Shortly before the inauguration of the Galician line on December 20, 2021, there were some statements from senior officials of the Ministry of Transport and the ADIF concerning operators interested in commercially exploiting this railway line, which would result in better use of the new route with multiple frequencies and a significant drop in pricesas has already happened in the liberalized corridors of Catalonia or the Valencian Community and will soon happen in Andalusia.
The Italian-Spanish company Iryo has already announced its intention to operate on the Galician line and on the one that it will connect with the Basque Country in the future, even if this forces it to buy Avril-type variable-gauge trains if it wants to reach most of the Galician cities and do not remain in Ourense, where the international gauge tracks, characteristic of almost all of the Spanish high-speed network, end. From that city, the width is Iberian, What is an obstacle to liberalisation?as recalled in a report by the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC): Certain technical characteristics of the railway infrastructure and, in particular, the coexistence of Iberian gauge tracks and high-speed tracks, hinder the interoperability of passenger transport, which determines the competitive dynamics between market operators.
One year of AVE in Galicia: most of the cities are still waiting for the expected times
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On a day like today, a year ago, King Felipe VI and the president of the government, Pedro Sánchez, inaugurated the high-speed line to Galicia with a train journey from Madrid to Ourense. Spain needed this AVE as much or more than Galicia, the Chief Executive said at the time to celebrate the collective success of completing the most complex section of the new railway track. the 119 kilometers of tunnels starting from Pedralbain Zamora. After an investment of 10,000 million spread over twenty years, a peripheral and northwestern community was finally connected with the rest of the country via a high-performance line, unique in Europe for its complexity. The day after the official inauguration, the first commercial trips began with great anticipation and sold out.
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