Spanish trains now easier to book

The Alta Velocidad Española, known as the AVE, are the high speed Spanish trains, which travel around the country connecting large cities and its smaller towns on the RENFE rail network.

AVE trains are now even easier to book with Rail Europe as it has direct access to the Spanish RENFE booking system.

The RENFE Direct Connection means that Rail Europe can find you the cheapest fares, and live schedules making it really easy to book your tickets on the Spanish trains with Rail Europe.

Travellers to Europe have embraced the high speed network as they can easily travel between Madrid, Barcelona and Seville, ticking off their must-see list of Spain, but also to the smaller more provincial towns.

Passengers who want to experience the fast and efficient AVE trains can book their journey with Rail Europe and go online to the Rail Europe website to check out the tips and advice on travelling in Spain.

There are several options for the train traveller to explore Spain on the AVE. Passengers can opt for point to point tickets if they are just making a couple of journeys on the high speed network between, for example, Madrid and Barcelona, but if they want to see more of Spain and have more flexibility the best option is to choose the Eurail Spain Pass. This pass gives unlimited travel on the Spanish trains for up to 2 months.

The Eurail Spain Pass, which can be booked with Rail Europe, allows passengers to jump on and off the AVE trains and visit the whole of Spain at their own pace.

Perhaps the success of the Spanish trains has also been the acceptance of the AVE with the local people, with many Spaniards choosing the quick, easy journeys by train, over driving or catching a flight.

The high speed network has been in development since the late 1980s and has been a resounding success.

Spain has spent around AUS$55 billion on its high-speed network building and expanding the connections through both good times and bad.

The people who ride the AVE trains seem to enjoy them and the businesses which naturally grow around train stations and cross roads believe the trains are good for their cities and good for business, which make the Spanish trains very good for the country.

Today the Spanish train system has fast become one of Europe's most extensive high speed networks - and third in the world after China and Japan.

For more information, visit raileurope-world.com.