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'''Martin's Heron''' is a housing estate on the eastern edge of [[Bracknell]] (a town in [[Berkshire]], [[UK]], just west of [[London]]). The name Martin's Heron is frequently misheard, and its name is a source of much confusion. It has nothing to do with the avian [[Heron]] but stems from the old English word for meadow - Hern.
:''This article is about the train. See also [[Advanced Vehicle Engineers]], a short-lived aviation company''
Martins Heron is well known locally as being the site of [[Harry Potter]]'s house. The recent filmed version of [[JK Rowling]]'s famous story was filmed partly on ___location. The external scenes with the actor [[Daniel Radcliffe]] playing Harry Potter at his house were shot on ___location at a house in Picket Post Close, Martin's Heron.
[[Image:AVE Train Set.jpg|right|frame|AVE trainset for Madrid-Sevilla]]
[[Martins Heron railway station]] serves commuters travelling to [[London Waterloo]] and [[Reading, Berkshire]]. The train station is very small but is manned during office hours, and is equipped with CCTV. The train station is situated right next to a [[Tesco]] supermarket, and indeed was built by the supermarket chain, as a precondition of the supermarket being built.
'''AVE''', short for '''Alta Velocidad Española''' (literally, "Spanish High Speed" but also "bird" in [[Spanish language|Spanish]]) is a [[high speed train]] that can achieve speeds of up to 300 km/h on dedicated track. Three different corporations have made or will make train sets to run on the high-speed network: Spanish firm [[Talgo]], French firm [[Alstom]] (makers of the [[TGV]]), and German firm [[Siemens]] which makes the [[ICE]] high speed trainsets for Germany.
Martin's Heron Tesco is also used for filming. It is one of the very few Tesco supermarkets in the country that is not open on Sunday, owing to concerns from local residents. It is therefore used as a filming ___location for all the Tesco television adverts featuring [[Prunella Scales]] and [[Jane Horrocks]] among others.
Unlike the rest of the Spanish [[broad gauge|broad-gauge]] network, the AVE uses European [[standard gauge]], permitting direct connections outside Spain in the future. All AVE trains are operated by [[RENFE]] (Spanish State Railways). Under consideration, however, is the possibility of granting private companies the right to run several lines which are under construction or in the planning process.
{{Berkshire-geo-stub}}
== History and Extensions==
The AVE started running between [[Madrid]] and [[Seville]] on [[21 April]] [[1992]], a distance of 471 km. Construction of a high-speed line connecting Madrid and [[Barcelona]] is under way, with the first section from Madrid to [[Lleida]], via [[Zaragoza]], having opened on [[11 October]] [[2003]] and inauguration of the remainder currently planned for [[2007]] (present forecasts are that it will reach [[Tarragona]] by [[2006]]). When completed, the Madrid-Barcelona line will be the world's fastest in commercial operation with trains reaching a top speed of 350 km/h and covering the 600 km between the two cities in just 2.5 hours.
[[Category: transportationVillages in SpainBerkshire]] ▼Construction of segments to [[Valladolid]] and [[Malaga]] are underway, and there are firm plans for extending the system to [[Valencia]] and [[Alicante]], and eventually to interconnect with the French [[TGV]] network as well. Further expansions to [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]], the [[Basque Country]] and [[Portugal]] will also eventually be built.
The Spanish government has an ambitious plan to have 7000 km of high-speed rail operational by the end of the decade. The overall goal is to have all provincial capitals at most only four hours away from Madrid, and 6 hours 30 minutes from Barcelona.
The construction currently taking place on the high speed corridor from Madrid to Barcelona has been less than perfect. Trains are not running at their full speed between Madrid and Lleida. Engineering improvements are being promised that will eventually bring the line to the designed top speed of 350 km/h.
== Lines ==
Currently, four lines make up the AVE system:
*AVE Larga Distancia (''long distance'') Madrid-Sevilla (Madrid, [[Ciudad Real]], [[Puertollano]], [[Córdoba]], Sevilla)
*AVE Larga Distancia Madrid-Zaragoza-Lleida (Madrid, [[Guadalajara, Spain|Guadalajara]], [[Calatayud]], [[Zaragoza, Spain|Zaragoza]], Lleida)
*AVE Lanzadera (''shuttle'') Madrid-Puertollano (Madrid, Ciudad Real, Puertollano)
*Talgo 200 Madrid-Málaga (Madrid, Ciudad Real, Puertollano, Córdoba, [[Málaga]])
In Madrid, AVE operates out of [[Atocha|Puerta de Atocha]] station.
==External links==
* [http://www.renfe.es/ave/index.html AVE (Renfe)] (in Spanish)
* [http://www.altavelocidad.org/index_en.htm High Speed trains in Spain]
* [http://www.railfaneurope.net/ave/en-ave.htm AVE fan pages (last updated: 1999)]
[[Category:Rail transport]]
▲[[Category:transportation in Spain]]
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[[ja:AVE]]
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[[sv:AVE]]
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