Travelers to Europe this summer will be pleased to learn they can journey by high-speed train from Paris to Barcelona and on to Madrid. Set to debut in April 2013, the new link will shorten the trip from 15 hours to 9 hours. The train from Barcelona to Paris would only be 6 hours. Previously, Spain was disconnected from France’s high-speed rail network because of differences in track gauge. In recent years, Spain has improved rail infrastructure- with high-speed trains connecting Madrid to multiple other cities around the country- and the link to France is imminent. The New York Times points out that “passengers currently have to transfer from Spain’s AVE trains to France’s TGV trains near the border.”
Image of Spain’s AVE trains via Rail Europe