Who Really Runs Spain's Trains?

Key vocabulary

• alta velocidadf.

  high-speed rail

  “España tiene una red de alta velocidad muy grande.”— Spain has a very large high-speed rail network.

  Pattern tren de alta velocidad high-speed train

  Compare AVE (Spanish high-speed rail brand)

  Plural: altas velocidades

  💡 alta high + velocidad speed; note that alta agrees in gender and number with velocidad

• invertirv.

  to invest

  “El país ha invertido más de 60.000 millones de euros.”— The country has invested more than 60 billion euros.

  Pattern invertir en to invest in

  Compare financiar to fund

  Present: invierto, inviertes, invierte... (e→ie)

  💡 Root in- + vertir (to turn); turning money in is investing

• accidentem.

  accident

  “Este año hay dos accidentes graves.”— This year there are two serious accidents.

  Pattern accidente grave serious accident

  Compare siniestro disaster

  Plural: accidentes

  💡 Note the difference from incidente (incident); accidente is more serious

• gestiónf.

  management

  “Hay dudas sobre la gestión de Renfe y Adif.”— There are doubts about the management of Renfe and Adif.

  Pattern gestión profesional professional management

  Compare administración administration

  Plural: gestiones

  💡 From gestionar (to manage); note the accented ó

• expertom.

  expert

  “Cuatro expertos del sector hablan con Expansión.”— Four experts from the sector speak with Expansión.

  Pattern experto en expert in a certain field

  Compare especialista specialist

  Plural: expertos; feminine: experta

  💡 Note that x is pronounced /ks/, not /s/

• defenderv.

  to defend

  “Los cuatro defienden la alta velocidad española.”— The four defend Spanish high-speed rail.

  Pattern defender una idea to defend an idea

  Compare proteger to protect

  Present: defiendo, defiendes, defiende... (e→ie)

  💡 Root de- + fender (to strike); blocking a strike is defending

• seguridadf.

  safety

  “Primero, la seguridad.”— First, safety.

  Pattern seguridad ferroviaria railway safety

  Compare protección protection

  Plural: seguridades

  💡 From seguro (safe); the -idad suffix forms a noun

• víctimaf.

  victim

  “Proponen una ley nueva en memoria de las víctimas.”— They propose a new law in memory of the victims.

  Pattern en memoria de las víctimas in memory of the victims

  Compare damnificado affected person

  Plural: víctimas

  💡 Note the accented í in víctima

Grammar spotlight

Sentence patterns to steal

• Dicen que el problema no es el modelo, sino la política.

  They say the problem is not the model, but the policy.

  Dicen que el problema no es + A, sino + B.A and B can be replaced by two contrasting nouns, such as el precio / la calidad.

• El fallo está en no separar la política de la gestión.

  The mistake lies in not separating politics from management.

  El fallo está en + infinitive/noun.Fallo can be replaced by el problema / la clave, and the infinitive can be replaced by any action.

• Para ellos, la alta velocidad necesita una gestión profesional y estable.

  For them, high-speed rail needs professional and stable management.

  Para + person, + subject + necesitar + noun.The person can be replaced by mí / los usuarios, and the noun can be replaced by any need.