If you go to the RENFE website and click on their link for "AVE - Long Distance" trains you will see a listing of various train names - AVE, Alaris, Altaria, Arco, Alvia, Estrelia, Euromed, Talgo, Trenhotel to name a few. Browse the categories and like me, you might only end up more confused.
AVE, Alaris, Arco, Euromed all appear to be high speed trains capable of reaching 130+ miles per hour. Trenhotel is of course the night time trains with sleeping compartments. I suspect some train "name" designations reflect the train's comfort facilities. Below you will find a listing of some of Spain's high-speed train routes (on AVE, AVANT and EUROMED) and the shortest travel time for each route as of January 2012.
AVANT is a medium distant high speed train, 160 miles per hours (250 km/hr), they differ from the AVE trains in the construction of the trains used on the high-speed track. They do not have a luggage check-in service. Luggage compartments are at the end of each train. See Traveling with luggage on a train in Spain for info on the luggage restrictions for Spanish trains.
Use the high-speed train travel times below as guidelines. Travel times can be /longer, in some cases much longer. For your final trip planning use Rail Europe or go to the RENFE train schedules to determine the actual train travel time
| High speed train routes and durations |
|
|
| From |
To |
Travel Time |
Check RailEurope for price |
| AVE Madrid (Puerta de Atocha) |
Malaga |
2 hours 30 min. |
|
| |
Cordoba |
1 hour 42 min. |
|
| |
Cuenca |
51 min. |
|
| |
Seville Santa Justa |
2 hours 20 min. |
|
| |
Ciudad Real |
50 min. |
|
| |
Barcelona (Sants) |
2 hours 45 min. |
|
| |
Zaragoza |
1 hour 15 min. |
|
| |
Camp de Tarragona (8 km north of Tarragona) |
2 hours 33 min. |
|
| |
Valencia |
1 hour 35 min. |
|
| ALVIA Madrid |
Pamploma |
3 hourr 3 min. |
|
| AVANT Madrid (Chamartin) |
Segovia Guiomar |
27 min |
|
| |
|
|
|
| AVI Malaga |
Cordoba |
49 min. |
|
| AVI Seville |
Barcelona (Sants) |
5 hours 20 min.. |
|
| |
Zaragosa |
|
|
| AVANT Barcelona |
Tarragona |
31 min |
|
| |
San Sebastian |
5 hours 25 min |
|
| |
|
|
|
| EUROMED Barcelona |
Valencia |
2 hours 55 min. |
|
| |
|
|
|
| AVI Barcelona |
Seville |
5 hours
25 min. |
|
| |
Zaragosa |
1 hour
23 min. |
|
| |
Madrid |
2 hour
30 |
|
| |
Valencia on the EuroMed |
2 hours
55 min. |
|
| |
Cordoba |
4 hours
35 min. |
|
| |
|
|
|
| AVE Cordoba |
Tarragona |
3 hours 54 min. |
|
| |
Seville |
45 min. |
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Next: Using Spain's, local, Ceranias trains
Related: How to read an AVE Train Ticket
Go to RailEurope's |
