Re:Spain's efficient high-speed trains have transformed peop...
by Symbiote on Tuesday October 24, 2023 @04:40AM
(#37996331)
[delayed]
Re:Spain's efficient high-speed trains have transformed peop...
by ThePowerOfFuet on Tuesday October 24, 2023 @05:05AM
(#37996502)
They are; in France they are referred to as Intercités and Ouigo Classique.
Re:Spain's efficient high-speed trains have transformed peop...
by unflxw on Tuesday October 24, 2023 @12:03PM
(#38001111)
In Spain, especially after the closures in the 80s [1], the traditional rail network, which was already chronically under-maintained, also became, with some exceptions, hopelessly disjointed. Many of the remaining operating routes can't meaningfully connect the territories they pass through with each other, only to Madrid.
As more and more of the main cities are brought into the high speed network, the traditional network is given less funding and less service, to the detriment of the smaller towns served by it. However, it is important to note that this trend was already underway before the high speed network was in place.
The remaining regional train between Barcelona and Madrid, for example, takes eight hours by the schedule (nine or ten in real life) while the high speed trains take three hours or less.
Occasionally, some services survive that use the high speed network for most of the trip, then switch to the traditional network for the last leg of the trip.
[1]: https://nitter.net/pablomarinas_/status/1361406780757200898
Re:Spain's efficient high-speed trains have transformed peop...
by zxspectrum1982 on Tuesday October 24, 2023 @01:23PM
(#38002284)
Most of the non-high speed routes are gone indeed. There's 1 non-high speed per day, while there are 8-10 high-speed (which are a lot more expensive).
Also, high-speed trains are a lot (2x, 3x or more) more expensive than the traditional trains were, for a very small time savings (15-20%) in many cases, which means a lot of people cannot afford to travel by train anymore. So yes, high-speed trains transformed people's lives but not always in a positive manner.