High speed rail link to open by end of year

Spain's Minister for Public Works, José Blanco, announced today that the planned high-speed rail linking Valencia and Madrid would be operative by the end of the year.

The Minister emphasised that the opening of the link would be a huge bonus for people in both cities, with the journey time between Valencia and Madrid being reduced to just 90 minutes.

The line is 438km long and connects with Cuenca and Albacete, meaning that other provincial cities can benefit from this service aswell.

The Ministry of Public Works anticipates that the project will be extended through to Alicante in 2012 and Murcia two years later, from where it will then be able to link into the rail network which already covers much of Andalucia.