Well now you mention it, prior to getting the train from Barcelona to Valencia, three and a half hour and only 20 euros per person.
We noticed that there were many cafes around the Diagonal Mar area of Barcelona and Paral.lel area that have been taken over by Chinese people. I got the impression that the locals had not noticed nor cared and continued to use and abuse them as before. Well done to all concerned I say!

Can I ask how you obtained your ticket ?

I have been trying to book online Alicante-Valencia-Barcelona and back on the EuroMed service for May for which the fare is an eye-watering €30 return (that's if I want to travel at times convenient to me and not the train company).

What is getting up my nose however, is the fact that I can't book direct with Renfe or Euromed and have to book via an online agency, some of whom look like they could give lessons to Ryanair for end-loading charges, and which end up with a final total which gives us a whole new mathematical definition of the word "exponential".

€30 return from Alicante to Barcelona sounds very reasonable to me

Over 1000km for just 30 euros!

Did the poster mean 300Euros?

No, the basic price quoted was thirty euros. It goes up to about €70 once the handling charge is added, but is still phenomenal value. The basic price actually drops to €19 return if you're prepared to travel at 07.00 !

The post was to reiterate what jonboy had written, and was a sort of side-swipe at the posters here who hate the Spanish railways, think spending on them is a white elephant and point out that the AVE from Valencia to Barcelona takes 7 hours, and is hugely expensive because it goes via Madrid. They gloss over the fact that the EuroMed service on the coastal line is comfortable, very cheap and operates at speeds in excess of British intercity trains - but then again, Thomas the tank engine operates...

I travelled some years ago from Tarragon's to Valencia by Euromed, first class as all that was available. Ticket bought at the station, around 60 Euros as I recall. Great service. Certainly do not need the ave for that route.

We booked through the RENFE web site. It has been recommended that we use Internet Explorer as the Chrome browser is not always compatible.
The website "The man in seat 61" has a good description of using the RENFE site, as it is somewhat surreal!

Thank you so much jonboy !

The website you quoted worked and www.renfe.com works for me now, and I can book direct with them. God knows why it wouldn't before.

Have some karma.

+ 1 For the above little saga. The big serious, valid gripe is that the Corredor del Mediterranio is still so delayed and is going to be in the Iberian Gauge from Tarragona onwards.

Another is that the old Talgo's, Tren-Hotels, etc. that were very good value are dropped as soon as an AVE lone opens in that vague direction.

Regs

Simon

I notice that a 33cl botle of beer begins to be called a tercio from Valencia on - as opposed to a mediana here in Catalonia - stricktly speaking a mitjana of course But these 'appear' again in Estremadura - unless all the watresses there were being polite/tolerant of an old fart like me

Has any of us well travelled, railway cafeteria haunting fellows a definite geography of the two terms?

A bad connection is much better than no connection at all on the railways Dick

Regs

Simon

Meanwhile . . .

Maybe this bit of news is about as close as some want to get to a set of points - and why not

Or even better the video:

http://www.museodelferrocarril.org/c...oras_museo.flv

Regs

Simon

Simon you are a bit late with that news

I wish they would run some steam trains around, but I expect the countryside is too much like a tinderbox for most of the year.

Hi,

Yes, I know that was an old story - it came to my attention the other day as there was a feature on TV3 about the locomotive rolling out of the works looking like new

Meanwhile, the Tourist train from Lledia up to the Pyrenees at La Pobla de Segur used to run with a fabulous 'Mallet' type locomotive until the passengers complained of the smoke in the longer tunnels! Theh for a few years it ran just as far as Balaguer and then changed to historic diesels - now I'm not so sure if the steamer runs at all

Regs

Simon

A few years ago we had a "classic tourist train" running here. That was pulled by a Diesel motor. It looked like a UK Deltic. Nice but still not a steam engine
Another train accident in Galicia. Thankfully on disruption. The usual complaints of no information seem to occur no mater which country you are in.

End of the line for AVE high speed rail link between Sevilla and Malaga

A DISASTROUS U-turn by the Junta has sounded the death knell for Andalucia’s high speed rail potential.

The PP party has slammed the decision to scrap the rail link between Malaga and Sevilla as ‘ridiculous’.

Some €280 million has already been spent on the line, including 77 kilometres of platforms to accommodate the AVE high speed trains.

Embarrassingly, €180 million of EU funds already allocated for the project will now have to be returned to Brussels.

The Junta will also now have to spend millions of public money landscaping a large amount of land that had already been dug up in anticipation of the rail link.

http://www.theolivepress.es/spain-ne...la-and-malaga/