Spain and the Ave
(4/27/2009)
In Feburary, I arrived in Spain and then the next week hopped onto a train to head to a small conference for the Fulbrighters in the tiny mountain country of Andorra.
The Spanish have a high speed rail called the Ave which is fairly impressive. First, you come into the Atocha station which has a small tropical rain forest inside it.
The Rainforest in Atocha Station
This is Mary having a good time taking pictures of Atocha Station. (She just likes taking photos.)
Then you board a train like this one.
The Ave
These trains go faster than 200 km/hour. (That’s over 120 mph in American terms.)
In the United States, Obama’s Stimulus package has set aside $8 billion for implementing high-speed rail as shown in this video:
Here is a map of the proposed high-speed rail routes:
Proposed High Speed Rail Routes
White House Blog with more details
Here is one view of the Spanish countryside North of Madrid as we headed to the Pyrenees.
The Plain in Spain
To get a sense of Spain, you need to understand that in America, where we would have old crumbling barns Spain has castles and stone buildings.
Old Buildings in Spain
And here is an old ruin on the hill side:
Spanish Ruins
200km/h? They’re twice as fast as you said! Those trains reach 350km/h in commercial operation, and have already set a world speed record for non-modified commercial trainset, at 403km/h.
By Diego Méndez on May 6, 2009 8:33 am
I didn’t know that! The one I was on only got up to about 210 km/hour. I think they are terribly impressive.
By Puck on May 6, 2009 3:14 pm
210km/h? Funny thing. I would say they were maybe ALVIA trains instead of AVE, but even ALVIA trains can reach 250km/h. May I ask you where did you go to with that train?
By Diego Méndez on May 6, 2009 9:21 pm
Hola,
We went through Zaragoza up North to Lleida.
~P.
By puck on May 20, 2009 10:25 pm