Spain's high-speed rail network extended to 1,864 miles

Date: 17/1/2013

A new section of the high-speed rail network in Spain has opened, allowing passengers to travel to Girona and Barcelona faster than ever.

The latest extension of the Perpignan-Figueres line, which originally came into service in 2010, brings the total amount of high-speed track in the country to 1,864 miles, making its network second only to China in terms of size.

It links Figueres to Barcelona 81 miles away, meaning that it is possible to travel the 500 miles from Madrid to the border with France entirely by high-speed train.

Ramon Ramos, Director of Costa Brava Girona Tourist Board, said: "It used to take two hours to travel by train from Barcelona to Figueres.

"But now, with the new link, the trip's only 53 minutes long. To get to Girona it's just 37 minutes and if you're planning a trip to Madrid you can be there in three hours 32 minutes."

Eight out of the nine trains currently servicing the southbound route will link Girona and Figueres up with the Barcelona-Zaragoza-Madrid service.

Meanwhile two trains travelling in the opposite direction will allow passengers to connect up with to the TGV line in France, which lets them travel to Paris in five hours and 26 minutes on its high-speed rail network.

Mr Ramos said: "The new high-speed train line opens up many opportunities for Franco-Spanish tourism and enables visitors from across Europe to experience the Costa Brava, its famous gastronomy and cultural heritage, as well as its quality golf courses."

While high-speed rail is well established in countries such as Spain, France, Germany and China, other nations are still in the planning stages of putting networks in place.

The US currently has one high-speed rail route between Boston and Washington DC, but it shares the tracks with conventional trains.

Earliest projections for the first stage of a California high-speed rail project coming into fruition are 2017.

Meanwhile in the UK, work is underway to design a high-speed network which will link London to the West Midlands, before being expanded to Manchester and Leeds.

Posted by Nick Anderson

International Transport News and Sustainable Transport News