RENFE

The first activity is now the responsibility of a new public company, Administrador de Infrestructuras Ferroviarias (ADIF), while Renfe (full name: Renfe Operadora) owns the rolling-stock and remains responsible for the planning, marketing, and operation of passenger and freight services (though no longer with a legal monopoly). The Mondadori editing group originally owned "La Repubblica" but after Silvio Berlusconi acquired the group in 1990, the Italian political establishment led by the Christian Democrat Giulio Andreotti forced him to sell the newspaper to the rival tycoon Carlo De Benedetti, who still owns it. The Railway Sector Act of 2003 separated the management, maintenance, and construction of rail infrastructure from train operation. It is now directed by Ezio Mauro. The line to Lleida is slower at present, though there are plans for eventual operation at 350 km/h on this route. Since September 12, 1987, each Friday it is issued with the weekly supplement Il Venerdì. Speed on the Seville line is 300 km/h. It was founded in 1976 in Rome by Eugenio Scalfari and it has since kept a leftist political stance.

The high-speed lines are built to the standard European gauge. La Repubblica is one of the best-known and most widely sold Italian daily newspapers, second to only Corriere della Sera. The name is both an acronym of Alta Velocidad Española (Spanish high-speed) and a play on the Spanish word ave ( "bird"). The Spanish high-speed system is called AVE. Another high speed route from Madrid to Valladolid is under construction, and other lines to Valencia and Lisbon are being designed.

The last high-speed line opened is Madrid - Toledo, in November 2005. The greater part of the line, from Madrid to Lleida, was put in service on October 11, 2003, with connection to Huesca from Zaragoza; the extension to Barcelona is expected to open in 2007. The second high-speed rail, from Madrid to Barcelona, is under construction. In 1988 construction of the high-speed rail between Madrid and Seville began, and in 1991 operation of this line was started.

In the latter it is supplemented by the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya, Catalonia's rail system. The former was targeted in the March 11, 2004 Madrid train bombings. In addition to intercity transport, RENFE operates commuter train systems in a number of major cities, including Madrid and Barcelona. The company was formed on 24 January 1941 when Spain's railways were nationalized.

Certain through trains do run to and from France: they adjust the separation of their wheels at the frontier, so that they can run on both railway systems. A few years later this technical problem was solved, but the huge cost of a possible change of the tracks and the rolling stock to the European gauge left the Spanish network rather isolated from the rest of Western Europe, except for Portugal, which adopted the Spanish gauge. Because of this, a commission estimated that a gauge wider than the European one would allow bigger steam engines, which would make easier the ascent of the slopes. Spain is a country with many mountain ranges.

For historical reasons the tracks built up to 1988 are broad gauge tracks (1668 mm or 5 ft 5½ in), which is wider than the tracks of most other European countries. RENFE operates Spain's 15,000 km (or 9,500 mile) system of railways. The name RENFE is an acronym of Red Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Españoles (National Network of the Spanish Railways). RENFE is Spain's national railway operator.