Spain’s first AVE high-speed line connected Madrid with Seville in 1992.
The Madrid–Seville line was inaugurated on 14 April 1992, just before Seville hosted Expo ’92. Commercial AVE service began on 21 April, creating Spain’s first dedicated high-speed rail connection and linking the capital with Andalusia in the country’s south.
The line was built to standard gauge rather than Spain’s traditional Iberian gauge, allowing it to connect with the emerging European high-speed rail network. Its original AVE trains were based on the French TGV design and could reach up to 300 km/h. The 472-kilometre route reduced travel time between Madrid and Seville to roughly two hours and twenty minutes on the fastest services.
Seville was not chosen by accident: Expo ’92 provided a major international deadline and a reason to make the city the showcase destination. The route passes through or near Ciudad Real, Puertollano and Córdoba, where the Madrid–Málaga high-speed route later branches away.