The good people of Spain are abandoning cramped spaces in unfriendly, gas guzzling, aluminum flying tubes for the luxury of sleek, high-speed trains--often at a cost-savings as well.
High-speed rail travel - boosted by the opening of a line that slashed the journey time from Madrid to Barcelona to 2 hours 35 minutes in February - grew 28% over the same period. About 400,000 travellers shunned airports and opted for the 220mph AVE trains. ~ Spain's high-speed trains win over fed-up flyersImagine, 2 1/2 hours between cities. You'd wait for your plane for that long, never mind boarding it with your itty-bitty tube of non-terrorist toothpaste safely encased in the regulation baggie. And then there's that long wait for that bag they've charged you to store in the belly of the beast.
There are many reasons to consider taking the train over flying. You can move around, get a full meal or snack, watch the scenery zip by, and sit comfortably in seats designed for real people instead of stick figures. There's none of that ISR on trains either (that's Idiotic Shoe Removal for those of you not familiar with the jargon of the unimaginative US Top Secret Strong Security and Foot Odors Department).
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Nice title. It looks like high-speed rail is really picking up steam. It was one of the top for in Obama’s Citizen’s Briefing book.
I’ve been blogging in HSR for the last few months:
http://everyoneforever.org/blogger/labels/High%20Speed%20Rail.html
Beware of the train in planes though
Hi James,
I took the AVE and was not that impressed too. I went from Barcelona to Madrid for a weekend to stay in one of the great Roommate hotels and was much happier when I arrived than sitting on the train
James,
unfortunately I am living on an island with a far from adequate rail system, but I second your “Hurrah!” for rail travel. In continental Europe and Great Britain it is a VERY sensible alternative to flying. Unfortunately flights seem to be cheaper in many cases …
One thing I do, however, take exception with is your mention of smelly feet. The aroma of a backpackers netherest regions after he (or she) has kicked of his (or her) shoes has pervaded many a long-distance train I traveled on. But maybe air conditioning has made advances …
Regards, Bernd
Yeah, but those backpackers weren’t FORCED to take off their shoes. As Ben Franklin said while lacing up his reeboks, (you can look it up) “No greater freedom doth a man have than to take off his shoe in space confinith without being told to do so by an agency of government. Freedom doth not smell sweet always.”
james