Another day, another unbelievably gorgeous rail route to add to your summer bucket list. The latest locomotive news comes in the form of a train that’s set to transport travellers between two of Europe’s most popular destinationsvia – wait for it – 15 other cities.
Now, we’ve not exactly been lacking in the continental cross-border train travel department, lately. We’ve actually been rather spoilt for choice. European Sleeper, for example, recently announced a new sleeper train that connects 7 different European cities. But Spanish train-operators, Renfesaw their 7 cities, and raised them 17.
Renfe certainly know what they’re doing when it comes to inter-city train services. They currently run speedy trains that link the likes of Barcelona and Lyon, and Madrid and Marseille. But now, they’re branching out to another popular French city, Toulouse. The new route comes following the huge success of their previous routes, having welcomed a whopping one million passengers on board in the past year and a half.
The route will connect Barcelona and Toulousepassing through 15 other jaw-droppingly gorgeous cities on the way. Stops on the route will include Girona and Figueres in Spain, and Perpignan and Carcassonne in France. And the entire journey will take just 3 hours. The service is expected to run six times a day (three times in each direction) and start at just €89 (around £75).
Now, before you start requesting your annual leave and dusting off your suitcase, it may be worth adding that this is all hypothetical at the moment. No set date has yet been announced for the launch of the new route, as Renfe are currently awaiting approval.
They’ve submitted a request to the European Union Railway Agency for their safety certificate to be extended. Once approved, they’ll be able to start organising and finalising the details of the new Barcelona to Toulouse route. And as soon as the wheels are in motion, you can bet your bottom dollar euro, that I’ll be on board, faster than you can say ‘sustainable travel’.
