The Train in Spain Speeds Merrily Across the Plain

The sensation of riding on Spain's high-speed rail from Madrid to Seville is more than anything one of smoothness, without the bumps and jostles common on conventional rail. The journey passes so comfortably, in fact, that it's easy for a rider to forget the speeds at which the train is traveling—unless, of course, the rider happens to stand in the conductor's cabin. From the conductor’s vantage point, scenery zips alongside as tunnels loom ahead, then the train quickly plunges into darkness before darting out once again into the light. The speed, the most important trait of high-speed rail, turns from simply a number on paper into something visceral.

Spain has embarked on an ambitious project to develop high-speed rail connections in every major city, spanning out in a web all around the country and connecting the urban dots along the coast. By 2020, the country plans to have 10,000 kilometers of high-speed rail completed, placing 90 percent of the population within only a few dozen kilometers of a high-speed rail line and shooting Spain to the world’s top ranks in terms of total high-speed rail on the ground.

Today, “high speed” trains are generally understood to be those that travel at and above 200 kilometers per hour, or 124 miles per hour. That speed was first reached by a Japanese train, which was officially launched in 1964. France’s TGV followed in 1981. Actually, 200 kilometers per hour is now considered relatively slow in the high-speed world: most high-speed trains today travel at 250 to 300 kilometers per hour (150 to 185 miles per hour). Trains are in development that run at 350 kilometers per hour, and on test tracks, trains have reached more than 500 kilometers per hour.