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Barcelona to Madrid - bullet train by the numbers

The speed train between Spain’s two biggest cities — Barcelona and Madrid — made its first journey Feb. 20, 2008. Now travelers can have lunch in Barcelona and be in Madrid for dinner. Here’s a quick rundown on the numbers of how fast it goes, how much a ride on the train will cost, how long it takes to get there, etc.

[NB: Click the picture on the left to see a promotional video of the bullet train on YouTube]

Name of Spain’s newest bullet train: a.k.a. AVE, Alta Velocidad Espanola, which means “high-speed” in Spanish; the train is a Siemens S-103

Miles between Barcelona and Madrid: 324 miles

Number of AVE trains traveling daily: 17 in each direction

Travel time between Barcelona and Madrid on new bullet train: 2 hours, 43 minutes

Minutes early for the train’s first journey: 8 minutes

How fast does it go now: 300 kph/186 mph

How fast will it go next year: 350 kph/217 mph

Cost of a return ticket on bullet train: $240

Other high-speed trains in Spain: Madrid to Seville

Years this bullet train arrived after Spain’s first high-speed train: 16

Number of protesters from the CGT union awaiting AVE in Barcelona: dozens

— Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel Deal Blogger

[Image: YouTube.com]

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 21, 2008 at 12:34 am by Jen Leo and is filed under Business Travel, Europe, News, Tips & Advice, Rail Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.

3 Comments on “Barcelona to Madrid - bullet train by the numbers”

Travel Paradise Blog » » AVE High-Speed Train Links Barcelona, Madrid Says:
February 21st, 2008 at 4:23 pm
[...] Service between two of Spain’s biggest and most-traveled cities opened yesterday, with the first train completing the 342-mile journey to Madrid in 2 hours, 35 minutes. The BBC and others have the story, and the Los Angeles Times Daily Travel & Deal blog breaks the train down by the numbers. [...]
AVE High-Speed Train Links Barcelona, Madrid | Travel Last minute? Says:
February 22nd, 2008 at 4:04 pm
[...] Posted on February 22nd, 2008 in Travel News Service between two of Spain’s biggest and most-traveled cities opened yesterday, with the first train completing the 342-mile journey to Madrid in 2 hours, 35 minutes. The BBC and others have the story, and the Los Angeles Times Daily Travel & Deal blog breaks the train down by the numbers. [...]
naveed qaiser Says:
June 2nd, 2008 at 2:38 pm
hello hi to all team to do this tarin barcelona to madrid and madrid to barcelona serives very nice it was very nice to all of them God bless to all
ok bye.
from naveed
(barcelona)