Madrid-Seville AVE Trains
2½ hours from city to
city
ABOVE: AVE trains in Seville's Santa Justa
Station. INSET BELOW: Atocha Station in
Madrid is the
hub of Spain's AVE high-speed train network. Its amenities include an indoor
public park.
by Durant Imboden
 Madrid and Seville
are 536 km or 340 miles apart, a distance that translates into at least six
hours of driving time. Flying takes only an hour, but airport transportation,
check-in, and security lines can easily triple that figure. The quickest way to
get from Madrid to Seville--or vice versa--is on an AVE train operated by
Renfe, the Spanish national railroad.
These Alta Velocidad Española
trains (with an acronym that spells "bird" in Castilian) reach speeds of up to
300 km/h or 186 mph, and they're so reliable that Renfe will refund the price of
your ticket if the train arrives more than five minutes late.
But AVE train travel between Madrid and Seville is't just quick
and reliable: It's more comfortable than flying. Preferente or
first-class seats are in a 1 + 2 configuration, while Turista or
second-class carriages have 2 + 2 seating. The latter coaches provide special
"family areas" and facilities for wheelchair users.
 AVE
trains also have bar and club cars, and both first-and second-class passengers
have access to special departure lounges. (I visited the Club AVE lounge at
Atocha Station in Madrid, which was similar to a VIP lounge at an airport with
comfortable seating areas, free drinks, complimentary newspapers, stylish
lavatories, and other perks for travelers with first-class tickets or with rail
passes from Eurail and
InterRail.)
For more
information on traveling by AVE train between Madrid and Seville (with a stop in
Córdoba), see page 2 of this
article.
Next page:
AVE tickets, reservations, passes
Top inset photo copyright © Harryfn.
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