Mr José Blanco, Spanish Minister for Development, participated in a test trip on 13 October aboard an AVE S-112 train between Cuenca and the high-speed railway station of Valencia, on the Madrid-Castilla La Mancha-Valencia-Murcia high speed line.

Mr Blanco was accompanied by the President of the autonomous community of Valencia, Francisco Camps, the Mayor of Valencia, Rita Barberá, and the Minister of Planning and Housing, Julian Sanchez, on behalf of the autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha.
The Secretary of State for Planning and Infrastructure, Victor Morlan, the Secretary General for Infrastructure, Inmaculada Rodríguez-Piñero, the Secretary General of Institutional Relations and Coordination, Fernando Puig de la Bellacasa, and the Presidents of ADIF, Antonio González, and RENFE Operator, Teófilo Serrano, also participated in the test trip.

The Madrid-Castilla La Mancha-Valencia-Murcia high speed line represents a constructive challenge and a significant economic effort. With 955 km in length and a total investment of 12 410 million euros, the “LAV” (Linea de Alta Velocidad) is considered to be an engine for economic revitalisation and the backbone of Spain.

The new infrastructure has been built with the most demanding parameters for quality and safety. The entire platform has been implemented with double track standard gauge, suitable for top speeds of 350 km/h and has been equipped with the latest communications technologies (GSM-R mobile phones), safety and signalling (ETCS).
The opening of the new high speed connection between Madrid, Cuenca, Albacete and Valencia will allow traffic to circulate between these populations and will generate 80 000 tonnes of CO2 per year less, enabling energy savings of nearly 30 000 tonnes of oil.
The high speed services on the RENFE corridor between Madrid and Valencia could save approximately 950 000 automobile trips and more than 6 000 commercial flights each year.