Costa Brava to gain in popularity, new fast train links open

[DBMarcos99]

http://www.spanishpropertyinsight.com/buff/2012/12/18/barcelona-fast-train-connection-to-london-and-paris-from-january/

The increasing speed and access by fast-train to Barcelona and the Costa Brava from cities like Paris, London, and Geneva, can only be good news for local property markets. Ease of access is always a key factor driving demand for holiday-homes: When attractive destinations get easier, quicker, and cheaper to reach, demand for second homes always goes up.

Maybe there is a future for “Barcelona World” after all? ❓

[Fuengi (Andrew)]

plane still cheaper and faster though.

personally I still think this line is going to benefit the south of Spain more than the north, as it will speed up the transportation of farm/manufactured goods to their respective markets

[katy]

Most French travel by car as they will need it when they arrive. Who in their right mind would sit hours on a train and pay more than a flight…only railway enthusiasts like Marcos and nervous flyers 😆 😆

[DBMarcos99]

@katy wrote:

Most French travel by car as they will need it when they arrive. Who in their right mind would sit hours on a train and pay more than a flight…only railway enthusiasts like Marcos and nervous flyers 😆 😆

Are you even aware of the high take-up of rail travel by the French? Obviously not! 😆
Train journeys from say Perpignan or even Lyon to Barcelona or the Costa Brava will compete very well with flights. When talking about travel time and costs, remember that you have to add in the costs of getting to the airport, often needing to be there 2 hours before the flight itself. Sometimes you can be lucky and just pay £6 on the tube, or 3 euros on the metro if you live in a big city. Otherwise you can end up paying 60-100 for each taxi connection, and you’ve got all that time wasted at the airport. Yes many will still take their car, but by all accounts toll fees are rising in both France and Spain, so no money saved there either!.
Of course there won’t be many (if any) going all the way from London to Barcelona by train, but intermediate routes will be well taken up. The AVE in Spain has seen off the air flight business between Madrid and Valencia, and they now have more travellers on the Madrid-Barcelona route than take the shuttle flight service.

[katy]

Some AVE routes only have around 6 passengers. they are heavily subsidised. More vanity projects. Anyone who thinks people choose holidays in a location because of it’s train service must be barking mad 😆

[DBMarcos99]

@katy wrote:

Some AVE routes only have around 6 passengers. they are heavily subsidised. More vanity projects. Anyone who thinks people choose holidays in a location because of it’s train service must be barking mad 😆

Ha! I can assure you there were a lot more than 6 passengers in my carriage alone last time I travelled on the AVE (and that was a 11.40 journey midweek from Valencia to Madrid). Never mind the train. As for the route.. 😆
Every time someone who’s been on the AVE and related their experience (whether on routes to Toledo, Malaga or seville) they tell us it’s been busy.
Can you produce any evidence from 2012 of AVE routes carrying such low figures? Even the Galicia track (which is waiting connection to Madrid before it really attracts viable numbers) wouldn’t have such a low figure for a “route”
I think you’re making things up again. 😆

[katy]

You find it…I read it. You are obviously the google expert 😆 😆

[DBMarcos99]

@katy wrote:

You find it…I read it. You are obviously the google expert 😆 😆

It’s imaginary make-believe rubbish like your previous assertions “Coffee costs 2 euros in most parts of Spain” “It’s always cold in Valencia in winter” 😆
Btw, highs in Valencia this week are 21, 22, 23C http://eltiempo.elpais.com/espana/

[angie]

katy we’ve been to the Costa Brava many times and have always travelled by road, the occasional coach years ago but always by car since. The cost of travelling by rail for 2+ passengers make it prohibitive, air travel is cheaper, by car we can have an enjoyable stop-off en-route in France still cheaper, and when we get there we don’t have to hire a car, yet another cost consideration 😉

Rail travel is becoming very expensive! 🙄

[katy]

Marcos, I am recently back from the caribbean…32C but I wouldn’t want to live there. If I did I would be there or in Spain not talking and dreaming on a forum. I know al about spanish winters…did about 13 of them 😯 don’t have to cherry pick a good weather week!

[DBMarcos99]

@angie wrote:

katy we’ve been to the Costa Brava many times and have always travelled by road, the occasional coach years ago but always by car since. The cost of travelling by rail for 2+ passengers make it prohibitive, air travel is cheaper, by car we can have an enjoyable stop-off en-route in France still cheaper, and when we get there we don’t have to hire a car, yet another cost consideration 😉

Rail travel is becoming very expensive! 🙄

Actually you have a point in that very few are going to travel to the Costa Brava from Britain on train, even for a weeks’ holiday. However what will happen is it will enable long weekends and day-trips from French city dwellers, who don’t want to spend their free time waiting in an airport queue for a delayed flight or stuck in the weekend traffic jams down to the Med.

[katy]

Then they have to queue up to hire a car..who wants to be without one on holiday apart from the few who don’t drive. I think French tourism is up this year…in France that is

[Author]

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