AVE
| Main station(s) | Madrid Atocha, Barcelona Sants, Seville-Santa Justa, Zaragoza–Delicias |
|---|---|
| Other station(s) | Madrid Chamartín, Valencia-Joaquín Sorolla, Málaga-María Zambrano, Granada, Alicante Terminal, Valladolid-Campo Grande, A Coruña-San Cristóbal, Santiago de Compostela railway station, Ourense, Córdoba |
| Fleet | 22 S-100 16 S-102 26 S-103 20 S-106 25 S-112 |
| Stations called at | 52 |
| Parent company | Renfe |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | Standard (1435 mm) |
| Electrification | 25 kV AC (some sections on 3 kV DC network) |
| Length | 3,966 km (2,464 mi) |
| Other | |
| Website | https://www.renfe.com |
Alta Velocidad Española (AVE) is a high-speed rail service operated by Renfe, the Spanish State railway company.
The first AVE service was inaugurated in 1992, with the introduction of the first Spanish high-speed railway connecting the cities of Madrid, Córdoba and Seville.
In addition to Renfe's use of the Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias-managed rail infrastructure in Spain, Renfe offers two AVE services partially in France, connecting respectively Barcelona-Lyon and Madrid-Marseille.
Alta Velocidad Española translates to "Spanish High Speed", but the initials are also a play on the word ave, meaning "bird". AVE trains operate at speeds of up to 300 km/h (186 mph).