Here is a breakdown of the different ways to get to Sevilla from Madrid. Which of the options would be of most interest to you?
Madrid to Seville by Train
The train from Seville to Madrid takes about 2h30 and costs about 80 euros. This is the quickest way to get from Madrid to Seville, but also the most expensive.
Madrid to Seville by Bus
There are regular buses throughout the day between Madrid and Seville. The journey takes six hours and costs about 20 euros. This is the cheapest option but the journey is long.
Madrid to Seville by Car
The 550km drive from Madrid to Seville takes about 5h30. You will spend most of the journey on the A-5. Consider visiting Merida or Caceres on the way.
I believe that 80 euros number is round trip, or prices could've gone up since I was there in 2005. I loved the Ave and although it's more expensive than standard bus or train fares, the saved time is really worth it. Especially on a vacation, where you only have maybe 10 days total in a country.
To me it seems like a no-brainer to implement a high speed line for certain parts of the country. For instance, an Ave from LA to Vegas would make bank, right? The real question, like Scott has pointed out with the recent LA to SF high speed ballot initiative, is how are we gonna fund these things? Is the train a money making proposition?
And would you use it if it were around? Cause I know I'd love a way to get to SF about as fast as a plane but without the hassle of airports.
In general the Aves take about 50% of the time as driving. The 5.5 hour car trip to Sevilla becomes 2.5 on the Ave; the 6 hour car trip to Barcelona becomes just under 3 on the Ave.
ReplyDeleteGranted Spain is way smaller than the US - it's slightly bigger than Cali - but in dense areas like the East Coast or places like LA-SF-Vegas-Phoenix I can see this being reasonable. Am I off base? Is it just too expensive?
PS - the other reason I enjoyed this article is that it gave me a reason to bump Aaron's bug bite picture off the top of the site. Yech
ReplyDeleteI have no problem moving my post down, I was actually getting tired of seeing it.
ReplyDeleteI think any real breakdown of the costs and benefits of a high speed train needs to compare against flying and driving your own car. It takes probably 3 (1 hour flight, from gate to gate) hours from my door to landing in Vegas or San Diego and with proper planning it will cost $100-150 round trip. (80 euros = $120?) Driving from SF to San Diego takes 7-8 hours each way and costs about $100 in gas.
Also, I do know there is already a train system going up and down the Eastern seaboard (Peter King talks about it). How quickly can a high speed train get up to speed and how long does it take to slow down? If it's making stops every 20-30 minutes, (DC, Baltimore, Philly, NY, Hartford, Boston, other than DC to Baltimore, each of those stop is about 100 miles) The AVE travels at 186 mph. The current Amtrak takes 1:22 to get from New York to Philadelphia. So rough estimate, a high speed train is half the time of the conventional train system.
Flying from Boston to Washington DC can be done for about the same as SF to San Diego, $100-150, 1.5 hour flight time.
ReplyDeleteTo me half the battle is the time and annoyance factor of airports... so if the time on a speedtrain is the same as a flight+airport time, then I would prefer the train if the price is also similar.
ReplyDeleteOf course, best case scenario is that prices on the trains are like 60% of flight prices, and times are also slightly better. I don't think driving your car is comparable because it's very different - much longer but much cheaper, and it doesn't allow you to read or work while en route like a train or plane. So it's really the choice if your only concerns are saving money or having driving flexibility... I don't think a speedtrain attempts to compete with those priorities.