Spain and Portugal for Visitors

Posted by : John Ross on Feb 19, 2008 - 11:12 AM Travel News

At last! From February 20th on, 17 high-speed trains a day now connect Madrid and Barcelona, with a travelling time between them of 2 hours 38 minutes (or even less) for a journey which until a couple of years ago took 12 hours. It has been a long wait, for the Madrid-Barcelona AVE line has been on the drawing board almost since the first Spanish high-speed railway link opened in 1992 to connect Madrid and Seville, then hosting Expo 92. Making it even more attractive to visitors is RENFE's new, low-cost airline-inspired pricing scheme, which provides whopping discounts for Internet bookings more than a fortnight in advance. It is possible to get a one-way ticket for €40.55 in this way, when the full price is over €100, but RENFE is known to be unhappy about this (the ticket price has been dictated by the government) and does not make it all that easy for customers. For more about how to get these discounts, see this article (when you come to book, remember that the AVE goes from Madrid Puerta de Atocha, not Madrid Chamartín), or read more of this story.

RENFE announces that 13,498 places a day are available on these trains, presumably being 6,749 in each direction, but the tickets are selling like hot cakes, underlining how sorely awaited this rail connection has been. Indeed, the AVE is expected to take quite a lot of business away from the puente aereo, the air shuttle which has been the dominant form of communication between the two cities for decades (and which was already heavily assailed by competition from low-cost airlines). Iberia is offering some mid-week flights from Barcelona to Madrid. which normally cost over €200, for €33, but when you add the costs, extra travelling time and general hassle of taxis, for example, the train still looks attractive. And low-cost airlines from Vueling to Clickair are constantly putting ever lower priced flights on sale.