Madrid–Hendaye railway

Madrid–Hendaye railway
A RENFE Class 252 train on the line in Altura de Jundiz, in the Basque Country.
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Adif
Termini	Madrid Chamartín Hendaye
Service
Operator(s)	Renfe Operadora
History
Opened	1864
Technical
Line length	641.6 km (398.7 mi)
Track gauge	1,668 mm (5 ft 5+21⁄32 in) Iberian gauge
Route map Legend 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 [[File:BSicon_</noinclude>.svg|x20px|link=|alt=|</noinclude>]] This diagram: view talk

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.

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[]