His Majesty the King travelled from Madrid to Murcia on Monday on the inaugural journey of the new high speed train link between the two cities.
Amongst those accompanying him on the journey were the Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, the Minister of Transport, Raquel Sánchez; the President of the Murcia Community, Fernando López-Miras and the Secretary of State for Transport, Isabel Pardo de Vera.
The president of the Generalitat Valenciana, Ximo Puig, also joined the train when it stopped at Elche.
Prior to the journey the king saw an explanatory video of the technical project and the improvement works carried out at the Murcia del Carmen station.
The High-Speed Line to Murcia will begin commercial service on December 20, offering 8 daily journeys, 4 in each direction, between Madrid and Murcia.
With a journey time of 2 hours and 45 minutes, it will start and end at the Madrid Chamartín Clara Campoamor station with intermediate stops in Orihuela and Elche.
The other AVE services originate and end at the Puerta de Atocha station in Madrid with stops in Orihuela, Elche, Alicante, Villena, Albacete and Cuenca. Travel time for this journey is 3 hours and 25 minutes.
Renfe will use the S-112 model for the Madrid-Orihuela AVE service, one of the most technically advanced trains. The train has 12 wagons, fully accessible for people with disabilities, and will travel at a maximum speed of 300 kilometers per hour carrying a maximum of 353 passengers. The seats recline and have footrests, in addition to a light and a folding table.
