AVE - Finally!
February 20, 2008
The majority of the 100 passengers on the first journey of the new and controversial AVE this morning who were consulted by Europa Press were travelling for professional reasons. The other 50 passengers were journalists who were covering the event.
The people interviewed stated that the AVE was the most comfortable form of transport, where one saves themselves the hassle of airports and finds themselves in the middle of the city of destination. Many people also prefer the comfort of the train to work, as it is not necessary to turn off mobile phones or computers, like in airplanes.
On the other hand, if you find yourself travelling with a lot of luggage, maybe the train is not the most comfortable place. Although foot space is far greater than in most airplanes.
The trains circulated at an average speed of 245 km per hour and even reached its top speed of 300 km an hour, although there were stretches where they had to circulate at 100 km an hour. With all this, some of the trains even arrived a few minutes prior to the expected arrival time.
The crew served a small breakfast at 7 am for the passengers in First class and a small souvenir of this first trip for the rest of the travelers.
The AVE Madrid-Barcelona was directly put into service without an official opening, as the Government had already announced, due to the proximity of the upcoming elections. Nevertheless, Renfe’s President, José Salgueiro, joined by other members of the board, were at Sants Station in Barcelona to supervise the arrival of the first train and returned to Madrid with the train leaving Barcelona at 10 am. Furthermore, AVE’s Director, Abelardo Carrillo, was on the first journey Barcelona-Madrid.
Written by Sophie · Filed Under Technology
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