Rail lines in Spain

Spain: Rail lines was 15,963 total route-km in 2021. ▲ Rising

Latest (2021)
15,963 total route-km
Change on year
up 0.7%
World rank
15th
of 104 countries
All-time high
15,963 total route-km
in 2021
All-time low
13,837 total route-km
in 1996
Years of data
27
1995–2021

Rail lines in Spain, 1995–2021

05.0k10.0k15.0k1995200820211995: 13.9k total route-km1996: 13.8k total route-km1997: 13.9k total route-km1998: 13.9k total route-km1999: 13.9k total route-km2000: 13.9k total route-km2001: 13.9k total route-km2002: 13.9k total route-km2003: 14.4k total route-km2004: 14.4k total route-km2005: 14.3k total route-km2006: 14.5k total route-km2007: 15.0k total route-km2008: 15.0k total route-km2009: 15.0k total route-km2010: 15.6k total route-km2011: 15.7k total route-km2012: 15.4k total route-km2013: 15.6k total route-km2014: 15.5k total route-km2015: 15.7k total route-km2016: 15.7k total route-km2017: 15.6k total route-km2018: 15.6k total route-km2019: 15.7k total route-km2020: 15.8k total route-km2021: 16.0k total route-km

Source: Railisa Database, International Union of Railways (UIC). Measured in total route-km.

Analysis

In 2021, rail lines in Spain stood at 15,963 total route-km. That is the highest value across all 27 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.7% on the previous year and up 1.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, rail lines in Spain peaked at 15,963 total route-km in 2021 and was at its lowest, 13,837 total route-km, in 1996.

Spain ranks 15th of 104 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 27 years of available data.

Rail lines in Spain, year by year

Annual values for Rail lines (total route-km) in Spain, 1995 to 2021.
Year total route-km Change
1995 13,856 total route-km
1996 13,837 total route-km -0.1%
1997 13,853 total route-km +0.1%
1998 13,862 total route-km +0.1%
1999 13,875 total route-km +0.1%
2000 13,868 total route-km -0.1%
2001 13,868 total route-km +0.0%
2002 13,856 total route-km -0.1%
2003 14,387 total route-km +3.8%
2004 14,395 total route-km +0.1%
2005 14,272 total route-km -0.9%
2006 14,472 total route-km +1.4%
2007 15,012 total route-km +3.7%
2008 15,041 total route-km +0.2%
2009 15,044 total route-km +0.0%
2010 15,590 total route-km +3.6%
2011 15,681 total route-km +0.6%
2012 15,438 total route-km -1.5%
2013 15,582 total route-km +0.9%
2014 15,506 total route-km -0.5%
2015 15,711 total route-km +1.3%
2016 15,650 total route-km -0.4%
2017 15,559 total route-km -0.6%
2018 15,618 total route-km +0.4%
2019 15,718 total route-km +0.6%
2020 15,848 total route-km +0.8%
2021 15,963 total route-km +0.7%

Spain compared with similar countries

  • Spain's 15,963 total route-km is above the median for high income countries, which is 3,756 total route-km, 4.3× the median. (38 countries reporting)
  • Spain's 15,963 total route-km is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 3,619 total route-km, 4.4× the median. (46 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 13,857 total route-km 13,837 total route-km 13,875 total route-km 5
2000s 14,421 total route-km 13,856 total route-km 15,044 total route-km 10
2010s 15,605 total route-km 15,438 total route-km 15,718 total route-km 10
2020s 15,906 total route-km 15,848 total route-km 15,963 total route-km 2

Countries ranked near Spain

  1. 12 Italy 17,305 total route-km compare
  2. 13 United Kingdom 16,179 total route-km compare
  3. 14 Kazakhstan 16,006 total route-km compare
  4. 16 Romania 10,769 total route-km compare
  5. 17 Turkey 10,546 total route-km compare
  6. 18 Sweden 9,714 total route-km compare

See the full ranking of 104 places →

More infrastructure data for Spain

All data for Spain →

Frequently asked questions

What is rail lines in Spain?
Rail lines in Spain was 15,963 total route-km in 2021, according to Railisa Database, International Union of Railways (UIC).
What is the highest rail lines recorded in Spain?
The highest recorded value was 15,963 total route-km in 2021.
What is the lowest rail lines recorded in Spain?
The lowest recorded value was 13,837 total route-km in 1996.
How does Spain rank for rail lines?
Spain ranks 15th out of 104 countries with data for 2021.
Is rail lines rising or falling in Spain?
Over the last ten years it is up 1.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Spain data come from?
The figures come from Railisa Database, International Union of Railways (UIC), published as part of Rail lines (total route-km). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Rail lines in Spain. Statizoid, drawing on Railisa Database, International Union of Railways (UIC). Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://infrastructure.statizoid.com/stat/rail-lines-total-route-km/spain/

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About this data

Indicator
Rail lines (total route-km)
Unit
total route-km
Source
Railisa Database, International Union of Railways (UIC)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
104 places, 2,110 data points, 1995–2021
Last refreshed

The total length of rail line in the country operated for passenger transport, goods transport, or both.