►►Madrid Atocha station full of high speed trains in 2011◀◀
The thousands of British holidaymakers who visit the Spanish resort of Alicante can now go there by high speed train, instead of flying.
There are nine high speed trains per day from Madrid to Alicante, cutting the previous journey time by 50 minutes to two hours 20 minutes. "Tourist class" tickets from Madrid cost £56.
This week a 100-mile long stretch of line from Albacete to Alicante opened for service (on Tuesday 18 June 2013), completing the high speed link from Madrid to Alicante, now known as Alacant.
Trains are capable of travelling at 185 mph on the new line but will be restricted to 125 mph until the £1.6 billion new line's European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) is fully tested.
Spain claims that it has the largest high speed network in Europe and the second biggest high speed network in the world after China.
Direct high speed rail services between Barcelona and Paris started in May 2013 after Spain opened the standard-gauge high speed section from Barcelona to Figueres Vilafant on the French border in January.
Despite the good news, there are also reports that the Spanish conservative government is prepared to axe many regional rail services unless the regional governments foot the £43 million bill for running them.
Advice on how to get from London to Spain by train: seat61