Madrid–Hendaye railway

The Madrid–Hendaye railway,[1] also known as the Madrid-Irún railway,[2] General del Norte Line or Imperial Line,[3] is a 641.6 km railway line linking the Spanish capital of Madrid with the French border at Irún and Hendaye, serving important northern Spanish cities including San Sebastián, Vitoria-Gasteiz and Valladolid.

Madrid–Hendaye railway
A RENFE Class 252 train on the line in Altura de Jundiz, in the Basque Country.
Overview
Status	Operational
Termini	Madrid Chamartín Hendaye
Operation
Opened	1864
Owner	Adif
Operator(s)	Renfe Operadora
Technical
Line length	641.6 km (398.7 mi)
Track gauge	1,668 mm (5 ft 5 ^21⁄32 in) Iberian gauge
Route map km 641.6 Hendaye France Spain border 639.4 Irún 622.5 San Sebastián 535.5 Alsasua 492.4 Vitoria 459.0 Miranda de Ebro 373.4 Burgos-Rosa de Lima 285.3 Venta de Baños 248.5 Valladolid-Campo Grande 206.3 Medina del Campo 120.6 Ávila 0.0 Madrid-Chamartín

Services

The line is used by the Cercanías San Sebastián commuter rail line between San Sebastián and Irún, and Cercanías Madrid lines C-3, C-8 and C-10. Direct Madrid to Irun services often use the Madrid–León high-speed rail line between Madrid and Valladolid-Campo Grande and switching to the Madrid-Hendaye line for the rest of the journey as Alvia services. Various Renfe Media Distancia services operate on different stretches of track, mostly in Castile and León, and an Intercity service operates between A Coruña and Hendaye.

The mostly single-track Casetas–Bilbao railway to Bilbao-Abando forms a junction with the Madrid–Hendaye route at Miranda de Ebro. At Venta de Baños, the line to Gijón begins.

References

1. "Construida la pérgola sobre la línea convencional Madrid-Hendaya en Quintana del Puente (Palencia)". Diario 20 minutos. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
2. "Un sabotaje en Anoeta interrumpe el tráfico ferroviario en la línea Madrid-Irún". Diario El Mundo. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
3. "El AVE es rentable. A veces". Diario Eldiario.es. Retrieved 13 May 2013.