Alicante railway station

Alicante/Alacant Terminal

Renfe class 130 train at the Alicante terminal.
Station statistics
Address Avenida de Salamanca, 1, Alicante
Lines Alaris, Altaria, Alvia, Euromed, Talgo
L-1, L-2 (Valencia, Cartagena, Ciudad Real)
, (Murcia, San Vicente del Raspeig)
Other information
Opened 1858
Electrified Yes
Owned by Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias (ADIF)
Services

Alicante terminal (Valencian: Alacant terminal) is the central railway station of Alicante, Spain. Commonly referred locally as the RENFE station, the station is part of Adif system, and is a terminal station.

The station accommodates RENFE long-distance and medium-distance trains, and it is the origin of lines C-1 and C-3 of Cercanías Murcia/Alicante (suburban trains). The station is not related to the narrow gauge railway Alicante-Dénia managed by FGV and part of the city's tram network.

By 2012, AVE (high-speed) railway is expected to reach Alicante. While a new intermodal station is to be constructed in place of the current terminal, a temporal terminal is to be utilized by the high speed trains.[1][2]

Contents

History

The first train arrived to Alicante from Madrid on 4 January 1858. It took almost 10 years to construct a railway from Madrid to Alicante, which was carried out by Compañía de los Ferrocarriles de Madrid a Zaragoza y Alicante, a predecessor of RENFE. Passenger services began on 1 March 1858, but the official opening awaited the arrival of Queen Isabella II on 25 May 1858.[3]

The initial design of the stations along the Almansa-Alicante part of the railway was approved in 1853. Additional extensions to the projects were made in 1857. It was one of the largest terminals built in Spain in those years.[3]

Between 1967 and 1968 the original facade of the Alicante station was completely rebuilt.[3]

Railway service

Cercanías Murcia/Alicante

The station services Alicante and Murcia suburban areas with a frequency of 1 or 2 trains per hour on line C-1 and with eight trains per day on line C-3. The station is the origin for both lines and is located in tariff area 6 of the Cercanías Murcia/Alicante netrwork.

Line Route
Alicante - San Gabriel - Murcia del Carmen
Alicante - University of Alicante - San Vicente Center

Medium-distance trains

The station is used by medium-distance RENFE trains such as Regional Express or Regional with services to Valencia, Murcia, Cartagena, Albacete, Villarrobledo, and Ciudad Real as lines L-1 and L-2.

Line Route Stops
L1 Valencia - Alicante - Murcia - Cartagena Valencia-Norte · Xàtiva · Villena · Sax · Elda-Petrer · Novelda · Alicante · San Gabriel · Torrellano · Elx Parc · Elx Carrús · Crevillent · Albatera-Catral · Callosa de Segura · Orihuela · Beniel · Los Ramos-Alquerías · Beniaján · Murcia-Estación del Carmen · Balsicas-Mar Menor · Torre-Pacheco · Cartagena
L2 Alicante - Albacete - Alcázar de San Juan - Ciudad Real Alicante · Elda-Petrer · Villena · Almansa · Albacete · La Gineta · La Roda · Minaya · Villarrobledo · Socuéllamos · Campo de Criptana · Alcázar de San Juan · Cinco Casas · Manzanares · Daimiel · Almagro · Ciudad Real-Central

Long-distance trains

Barcelona and Madrid are the primary destinations of long-distance trains operated by Renfe. Upon the construction of high-speed railway (AVE) in 2012, a trip from Madrid to Alicante is expected to take less than 2 hours.[2]

Train Destination Intermediate stops Frequency
Euromed Barcelona-Sants Valencia-Norte · Castellón de la Plana · Tarragona 3-4 trains daily
Alaris Barcelona-Sants Valencia-Norte · Sagunt · Castellón de la Plana · Benicàssim · Oropesa del Mar · Benicarló-Peñíscola · Vinaròs · L'Aldea-Amposta-Tortosa · Salou · Tarragona 1 train per day except Sunday
Alvia Madrid-Chamartín Elda-Petrer · Villena · Almansa · Albacete · Alcázar de San Juan · Madrid-Atocha 5-8 trains daily
Gijón-Cercanías Elda-Petrer · Villena · Albacete · Madrid-Atocha · Madrid-Chamartín · Segovia-Guiomar · Valladolid-Campo Grande · Palencia · Sahagún · León · Pola de Lena · Mieres-Puente · Oviedo 1 train per day except Saturday
Santander Elda-Petrer · Villena · Albacete · Alcázar de San Juan · Aranjuez · Madrid-Atocha · Madrid-Chamartín · Segovia-Guiomar · Valladolid-Campo Grande · Palencia · Aguilar de Campóo · Reinosa · Torrelavega 1 train per day except Saturday
Talgo Barcelona-Sants Elda-Petrer · Villena · Xàtiva · Valencia-Norte · Sagunt · Castellón de la Plana · Benicàssim · Oropesa del Mar · Benicarlò-Peníscola · Vinaròs · L'Aldea-Amposta-Tortosa · Cambrils · Salou · Tarragona 2-3 trains daily
Murcia del Carmen Elx Parc · Orihuela 1-2 trains per day
Cartagena Elx Parc · Orihuela · Murcia del Carmen · Balsicas-Mar Menor · Torre-Pacheco 1 train per day
Talgo Mare Nostrum Montpellier Saint-Roch Elda-Petrer · Villena · Xàtiva · Valencia-Norte · Castellón de la Plana · Benicàssim · Benicarlò-Peníscola · Vinaròs · La Aldea-Amposta-Tortosa · Cambrils · Salou · Tarragona · Barcelona-Sants · Girona · Figueras · Portbou · Cervera de la Marenda · Perpiñán · Narbona · Béziers 1 train per day
Lorca-Sutullena Elx Parc · Orihuela · Murcia del Carmen · Alhama de Murcia · Totana 1 train per day
Altaria-Talgo A Coruña-San Cristóbal Elda-Petrer · Villena · Almansa · Albacete · Alcázar de San Juan · Madrid-Atocha · Madrid-Chamartín · Collado Villalba · Ávila · Medina del Campo · Zamora · Puebla de Sanabria · La Gudiña · Ourense-Empalme · El Carballiño · Santiago de Compostela 1 train on Sunday
Pontevedra Elda-Petrer · Villena · Almansa · Albacete · Alcázar de San Juan · Madrid-Atocha · Madrid-Chamartín · Collado Villalba · Ávila · Medina del Campo · Zamora · Puebla de Sanabria · La Gudiña · Ourense-Empalme · Guillarey · Redondela de Galicia · Vigo 1 train on Sunday

References