{"id":174437,"date":"2025-10-04T22:02:58","date_gmt":"2025-10-04T22:02:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/in-the-nineteenth-century-spain-made-the-peculiar-decision-to-build-its-railways-to-iberian-gauge-now-this-will-be-a-benefit-for-renfe-in-galicia\/"},"modified":"2025-10-04T22:02:59","modified_gmt":"2025-10-04T22:02:59","slug":"in-the-nineteenth-century-spain-made-the-peculiar-decision-to-build-its-railways-to-iberian-gauge-now-this-will-be-a-benefit-for-renfe-in-galicia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/in-the-nineteenth-century-spain-made-the-peculiar-decision-to-build-its-railways-to-iberian-gauge-now-this-will-be-a-benefit-for-renfe-in-galicia\/","title":{"rendered":"In the nineteenth century, Spain made the peculiar decision to build its railways to Iberian gauge. Now, this will be a benefit for Renfe in Galicia."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Renfe can breathe \u00a0calm\u00a0. The company has established a substantial business in the \u00a0Galician corridor\u00a0. The volume of travelers between \u00a0Madrid\u00a0 and \u00a0Galicia\u00a0 has surged to the extent that airlines are retreating from this route. High-speed trains have drastically reduced travel times, and many passengers are now choosing trains for their \u00a0comfort\u00a0 and \u00a0time flexibility\u00a0.<\/p>\n

The Galician corridor is now part of the next package for \u00a0liberalization\u00a0 of train routes, alongside routes to \u00a0Asturias\u00a0, \u00a0Cantabria\u00a0, \u00a0C\u00e1diz\u00a0, and \u00a0Huelva\u00a0. However, real competition on these tracks won\u2019t be evident until \u00a02028\u00a0, largely because Adif has not met the scheduled deadlines<\/a>. Yet, the Madrid-Galicia route holds another peculiarity\u2014it is quite likely that we will see new competitors emerging by 2028.<\/p>\n

To understand this, we must trace back to the \u00a0nineteenth century\u00a0.<\/p>\n

The Particular Spanish Railroad<\/h2>\n

With each new technology, a host of standards and guidelines emerge, whether it is about \u00a0electric cars\u00a0, electricity, or indeed, train tracks. Railroads began taking shape in the early nineteenth century. Although the steam engine was invented in the \u00a018th century\u00a0, it wasn\u2019t until \u00a01804\u00a0 that Richard Trevithick built<\/a> a prototype that applied to transportation, giving birth to the \u00a0steam locomotive\u00a0.<\/p>\n

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The idea of a massive iron behemoth pulling carts to move goods faster seemed revolutionary. By \u00a01830\u00a0, the first passenger train line was opened, covering the iconic \u00a050 kilometers\u00a0 between \u00a0Liverpool\u00a0 and \u00a0Manchester\u00a0, famously piloted by George Stephenson<\/a>, who ideated the construction of that initial route.<\/p>\n

These early trains ran on tracks wider than the \u00a0standard of 1,422 millimeters\u00a0, which would soon widen to \u00a01,435 mm\u00a0, the now internationally recognized width. This led to the establishment of \u00a0two categories\u00a0: narrow gauge (less than 1,435 mm) and broad gauge (greater than 1,435 mm).<\/p>\n

Success in these early rail lines spurred expansion to \u00a0continental Europe\u00a0 and the \u00a0United States\u00a0. However, with every innovation came a quest for improvement, and \u00a0Isambard Kingdom Brunel\u00a0, an eminent British engineer, sought to create a more effective rail system. His \u00a0Great Western Railway\u00a0 connected \u00a0London\u00a0 with the southwest, western England, and much of \u00a0Wales\u00a0. Brunel argued that wider tracks would enable higher train speeds, and he proposed a track width of \u00a02,140 mm\u00a0.<\/p>\n

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\n \"A\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

After a \u00a0lengthy debate\u00a0 in 1845, the \u00a0Railway Width Commission\u00a0 resolved in favor of \u00a0Stephenson’s\u00a0 1,435 mm standard. Meanwhile, in Spain, the conversation around track width was equally complex.<\/p>\n

In the mid-19th century, observing accomplishments abroad, the Spanish Government began receiving applications for railroad concessions. They sought to harmonize railroad measures and tasked a team of engineers led by \u00a0Juan Subercase\u00a0 to draft a report. This report, dated \u00a0October 17, 1844\u00a0, recommended rejecting a concession for a Madrid to \u00a0C\u00e1diz\u00a0 route requested by French engineer Juqueau Galbrun.<\/p>\n

Historian \u00a0J. Moreno Fern\u00e1ndez\u00a0 reveals in his writings that these engineers had little to no firsthand experience of international rail systems. Their \u00a0bias\u00a0 resulted in overlooking that France had already adopted the standard rail width.<\/p>\n

Subercase advocated for the \u00a0Iberian Width\u00a0 of \u00a01,672 millimeters\u00a0. He believed a wider track width necessitated more powerful locomotives. Their stance was that a wider gauge could improve stability, particularly on curves. However, history showed that the perceived advantages of the Iberian Width weren’t as significant as believed.<\/p>\n

The Spanish government favored Subercase’s reasoning and opted for the Iberian standard. This decision was particularly ironic as other neighboring countries pursued the \u00a0international width\u00a0. By \u00a01844\u00a0, the Iberian track width became the national standard, despite Turkey initiating two lines that willingly adopted the international norm, one between \u00a0Barcelona\u00a0 and \u00a0Matar\u00f3\u00a0, and another between \u00a0Alar del Rey\u00a0 and \u00a0Santander\u00a0.<\/p>\n

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Portugal sought connections to France, creating legends that live on today<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Meanwhile, \u00a0Portugal\u00a0 sought to connect with the rest of \u00a0Europe\u00a0 via Madrid, but Spain remained unconvinced. Seven years later, in \u00a01851\u00a0, Portugal formally requested Spain to reconsider its standards, but the request fell on deaf ears.<\/p>\n

Despite \u00a0over 1,300 kilometers\u00a0 of Spanish rail being constructed by then, Spain believed their approach was superior, dismissing worries of isolation from Europe as inconsequential. A legend persisted that the different widths were a cautious measure against potential French invasions, although no documentation supported this theory.<\/p>\n

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\n \"Renfe\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Galician Case<\/h2>\n

Surprisingly, the engineers who first determined the Spanish railroad’s track width chose a measure that was not adopted by anyone else. While the original width prevails in parts of Spain, the construction of high-speed trains brought the \u00a0international width\u00a0 to the forefront.<\/p>\n

The section connecting \u00a0Madrid\u00a0 and \u00a0Ourense\u00a0 utilizes this width, yet beyond that, the Iberian width is still in use, creating an obstacle for trains.<\/p>\n

Talgo S106 trains are now equipped to handle \u00a0variable widths\u00a0. They can seamlessly switch tracks, effectively linking \u00a0Galicia\u00a0 and \u00a0Madrid\u00a0. Although this advancement is monumental, ongoing \u00a0structural issues\u00a0 with these trains have affected routes like \u00a0Madrid-Barcelona\u00a0.<\/p>\n

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\n \"Ouigo\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Currently, Talgo manufactures these trains solely for Renfe, restricting contracts to competitors like \u00a0Ouigo\u00a0 or \u00a0Iroo\u00a0. Adif plans to allow competition on the Madrid-Galicia route, but no contenders can currently manufacture the necessary trains, meaning Renfe can rest easy for now, all thanks to \u00a0Juan Subercase\u00a0.<\/p>\n


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General News – 2<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Renfe can breathe \u00a0calm\u00a0. The company has established a substantial business in the \u00a0Galician corridor\u00a0. The volume of travelers between \u00a0Madrid\u00a0 and \u00a0Galicia\u00a0 has surged to the extent that airlines are retreating from this route. High-speed trains have drastically reduced travel times, and many passengers are now choosing trains for their \u00a0comfort\u00a0 and \u00a0time flexibility\u00a0. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":174438,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36399],"tags":[6174,2300,6352,80,35609,43218,32419,43217,37072,1189,37916,1694],"class_list":["post-174437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-benefit","tag-build","tag-century","tag-decision","tag-galicia","tag-gauge","tag-iberian","tag-nineteenth","tag-peculiar","tag-railways","tag-renfe","tag-spain"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174437\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/174438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}