On November 15, 2005, Toledo launched high-speed connections with Madrid. In just 30 minutes, the capital of Castile-La Mancha was completed. Unity with the political and economic center of the country. The day was chaired by José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. … A long-awaited project that will change urban mobility and development.
That morning, the first AVE train left Atocha Station for Toledo at 9:40 a.m. Officials and neighbors who were participating in the historic event were waiting for him on the platform of the regional capital. “Both capitals will be connected in 25 minutes”was the ABC headline the next day. This was the beginning of a new era for the people of Toledo, who became part of Spain’s high-speed network, the second largest in the world after China.
The service started with great expectations. ABC Chronicles reported that tickets were in high demand, with people flocking to the ticket windows on the first day. 1 month later, Average occupancy was 64%This fact confirmed the success of the connection, which was designed to facilitate the movement of jobs, institutions and tourists between the two capitals.
AVE’s arrival in Toledo was the result of years of planning. In 1992, the Madrid-Seville line brought high-speed rail to Spain. However, it was not until the early 2000s that the Ministry of Public Works decided to use some of that infrastructure to build a 21-kilometre branch line from La Sagra to Toledo.
political discussion
The construction of branches was not outside the scope of political debate. Since the early 1990s, Toledo has been demanding high-speed connectivity, but it did not materialize when the Madrid-Seville line opened in 1992. Repeated government and election campaign promises.
In 2003, then-president José María Aznar took part in the symbolic act of laying the AVE’s first sleeping car in the midst of the pre-campaign, an act that drew criticism due to its electoral significance. The formal inauguration two years later, chaired by José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, was also marked by certain institutional tensions. Madrid president Esperanza Aguirre did not intervene in the incidentand Santa Barbara’s organized residents used that day to demand that the road be buried.
Aranjuez and the discontinuation of the previous service to Aranjuez Loss of Algodor Station They completed the contrasting context between technological modernization and the local resignation that AVE brought about 20 years ago.
This project was conceived as a work that integrates modern technology and respect for tradition. toledo station, Neo-Mudejar jewel completed in 1919it has been restored as a departure and arrival point for high-speed trains.
Ten years later, in 2015, ABC recalled the details of its construction in a 10th anniversary report. Change layout and the challenge of adapting historic buildings, which are cultural assets, to the demands of cutting-edge services.
european senior runner
For the past 20 years, the Toledo-Madrid AVE has powered a steady and constant flow of travelers each day. Every day, hundreds of Toledoans take advantage of the expressway to travel to the capital for work or study. At the same time, the train has supported cultural tourismattracts thousands of tourists who visit every year, attracted by the heritage and history of the World Heritage City.
This connection contributed to the southward expansion of the Madrid metropolitan area and strengthened Toledo’s role as administrative capital and service city. Furthermore, we will promote sustainable mobility models, reduce the use of private cars Emissions related to road transport.
In the near future, the Toledo-Madrid branch is preparing for a new phase. Upon completion of the installation of the Level 2 ERTMS (European Rail Traffic Management System) system on the Madrid-Seville line, Toledo will also introduce the same technology.
This is a state-of-the-art control and signaling system that allows continuous communication between trains and tracks. Improving safety, capacity and efficiency Service energy. This will bring Toledo to the same level of rail interoperability as Europe’s most advanced corridors.
Twenty years later, AVE, which has transformed 30 million tourists in two decades, is part of the daily landscape of the region’s capital. Historical events that took place in 2005 Today it is a symbol of progress and territorial unity.
High-speed rail not only shortened distances, but also changed the way an entire generation of Toledoans lived, worked, and interacted. And that’s not the only thing celebrating the city’s 20th anniversary. 75 kilometers of track infrastructurebut the high speed and shared history that continues to look to the future with a focus on the new Madrid-Toledo-Lisbon line.
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