By the end of 2010, Spanish rail authority RENFE claims Spain's most popular AVE high-speed train route will see its top speed increased from 300km/h to 350km/h. But they failed to mention the important bit - just how much faster the journey will be.
The Madrid to Barcelona train takes two hours and forty minutes to cover the 600km journey between Spain's two biggest cities, making that an average speed of 225km per hour. It is unclear for how much of the journey the train can spend at its maximum journey.
Assuming the improvements add 25km/h to the average speed of the train, this would bring the journey time down by 15 minutes to (two hours and twenty-five minutes). Not quite as headline-grabbing as the big 50km rocket boost, but still yet another good reason to take the train (rather than the plane) from Madrid to Barcelona. Once you've factored in check-in times and travel between the city center and the airport, the train takes about half the time the flight does, and it's a lot less stressful.
See also:
- AVE Train Routes in Spain Where can Spain's high-speed train network take you?
- How to Get from Madrid to Barcelona What are your options?
- Madrid or Barcelona? If you really have to choose, which should it be?