High-Speed rail line to be built between Paris and Madrid

[marmar]

from the London Times:



November 28, 2009
Paris and Madrid sign high-speed rail deal

Graham Keeley
Madrid


Spain and France have agreed to form a company to build a high-speed train line linking Madrid and Paris.

Service on the line is expected to start in 2012 and make travelling to Spain by rail a day trip for Londoners.

The Eurostar to Paris now takes as little as 2 hours and 15 minutes. Allowing for some delay in crossing Paris, passengers will be able to board a high-speed train from the French capital to Madrid, stopping off in Lyon and Barcelona. The journey time between Paris and the Spanish capital is expected to be between 5 hours 30 minutes and 6 hours — depending on whether the service stops in Lyon and Barcelona, or proceeds directly from Paris to Madrid.

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, the Spanish Prime Minister, and François Fillon, his French counterpart, agreed yesterday on the high-speed rail link between the two countries and the creation of an as-yet unnamed company to run it.

The company will be run jointly by Renfe, the Spanish state rail operator, and SNCF, the French rail operator, with each taking a 50 per cent stake. It will be operated from Spain. Renfe is planning to invest €300 million (£272 million), buying ten trains to service the new line. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/transport/article6935513.ece

[dysfunctional press]

1. "...expected to start in 2012 and make travelling to Spain by rail a day trip for Londoners..."

"The Eurostar to Paris now takes as little as 2 hours and 15 minutes. Allowing for some delay in crossing Paris, passengers will be able to board a high-speed train from the French capital to Madrid, stopping off in Lyon and Barcelona. The journey time between Paris and the Spanish capital is expected to be between 5 hours 30 minutes and 6 hours — depending on whether the service stops in Lyon and Barcelona, or proceeds directly from Paris to Madrid."

so- it's going to be roughly a 9-hour journey from london to madrid, apparently including the need to change train stations in paris...

but- it's only a 2 1/2 hour non-stop plane ride from either gatwick or heathrow to madrid...with round-trip fares from $180(pounds, not dollars), according to expedia.

[marmar]

3. Not including the transit times to/from the airport, the time allowed for checking in and....

...... clearing security, and the absolute hell of dealing with the airport, particularly LHR.

If time is not an issue, I'd opt for the train anyday. Any one of the 3 of them - the Eurostar, the TGV or the AVE - is an absolute delight to ride.

[dysfunctional press]

5. gatwick is cheaper and closer in than heathrow.

[marmar]

6. No. Heathrow is a lot closer to central London than Gatwick, and has a tube stop....

Gatwick is easier to deal with, and has the (expensive) Gatwick express train into London, but it's almost 30 miles from central London.

[dysfunctional press]

8. my mistake- but it is easier to deal with- and there are 12 express trains/hour...

for a 30-minute trip to the airport.

[Surya Gayatri]

4. You're right DP, if we're talking airport to airport,

but the trip to and from the respective airports, which are at least an hour from the city center--can add more than an hour to the front and back ends of the travel time. Trains deliver you directly to the heart of the city--big advantage for business travellers. Love European trains--fast, comfortable, and reasonably priced in general. So much more sustainable than air travel. And you can see the scenery as well...SG

[dysfunctional press]

7. "big advantage for business travellers.' not really....

a 9-hour+ train ride guarantees that they'll have to overnight to conduct business.

gatwick is 30 minutes from city center, and madrid's airport is even less.

[DavidDvorkin]

2. Those foollish Europeans

They could be spending that money on more worthwhile projects, like standing armies that would make the world tremble again as it once did when Europe was on the march.

We Americans can smile at their silliness. We know better.