Spain - Transportation

In 2002, Spain had an estimated 346,858 km (215,538 mi) of roadways, of which 343,389 km (213,382 mi) were paved highways, including 9,063 km (5,632 mi) of expressways. The Mediterranean and Cantábrico routes are the most important. There were 16,011,200 passenger cars and 3,271,000 commercial vehicles in 2000.

In 2002, the National Spanish Railway Network encompassed 15,171 km (9,427 mi) of track, of which 6,434 km (3,998 mi) were electrified.

Of Spain's 200 ports, 26 are of commercial significance. The largest are Barcelona, Tarragona, and Cartagena on the Mediterranean, Algeciras on the Strait of Gibraltar, La Coruña on the Atlantic, and Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canaries. The port of Bilbao, on the Bay of Biscay, can accommodate tankers of up to 500,000 tons. Substantial improvements were made during the 1970s at Gijón, Huelva, and Valencia. Scheduled ferry services connect Spain with neighboring countries and North Africa. In 2002, the merchant fleet was comprised of 144 vessels, totaling 1,364,751 GRT.

Spain had 133 airports and airfields in 2001, 93 of which had paved runways. Principal airports include Alicante, Prat at Barcelona, Ibiza, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria at Las Palmas, Barajas at Madrid, Malaga, Menorca, Son San Juan at Palma Mallorca, and Valencia. The state-owned Iberia Air Lines has regular connections with 50 countries and 89 cities in Europe, Africa, Asia (including the Middle East), and the Western Hemisphere. Other Spanish airlines are Aviaco, Air Europa, Viva Air, Binter Canarias, and Spanair. In 2001, 41,469,800 passengers were carried on domestic and international flights, and 879 million ton-km (546 million ton-mi) of freight