Most of the transport systems emanate from Madrid, the country’s capital, which occupies a central position.
There are two types of motorway in Spain, the autopista and autovia. Autopista roads are restricted to cars only and are mostly toll roads. Autovias are older roads. These may have tighter turns and steeper gradients but also often allow slower traffic such as agricultural vehicles and bicycles.
There are several different railway systems because of different gauges of track. The most common is broad gauge (which has 11,000 km of track). Most cities have tram or metro systems, including Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia and Seville.
The country’s position means it is an important hub for transport around the Mediterranean and North Africa. Ports and harbours play a significant part in Spanish transport.
There are a total of 96 airports in Spain, with the main ones being Madrid, Barcelona, Alicante and Malaga.
