The new high-speed rail connection between Madrid and Barcelona has made its inaugural journey today (February 20th).

According to Typically Spanish, the new service has already proved to be the most popular AVE line yet, with 70,000 tickets sold by the rail operator since they were made available last Thursday (February 14th).

Ranging in price from €40.80 (£30.85) to €163.50, tickets can be conveniently booked on the internet and allow buyers access to a journey time of just two hours and 38 minutes between the two cities.

AVE plans to shorten this travel time even further in the future once additional safety measures are finalised, the website reports.

The launch of the Madrid-Barcelona service means that, for those who do not like to fly, the Catalan capital can now be reached from the Costa del Sol by train in just over five hours. This is because the duration of the Madrid-Malaga AVE service, opened in December 2007, is just two hours and 30 minutes.

Plans for a new AVE station at Alicante are currently being developed, Typically Spanish reported last week.

Tags: , public transport, Spanish Railway Network