Spain Announces New "Low-Cost" High Speed Rail Between Madrid and Barcelona

Eventually, biometric scanning will replace e-tickets, because you can’t have “smart technology” without unnerving overtones of an Orwellian future in which our bodies are watched and recorded at every moment and there is no escape.

But there is free wi-fi! At least that is what the new service promises on the line that will offer five daily trains between a station near Barcelona’s airport and Madrid’s central station. Other smart technologies include an app that will allow passengers to book taxis and connecting trains while buying their ticket.

In keeping with their name, these high-speed trains will travel at around 200mph, transporting passengers between the two iconic destinations in the same 3-hour timeframe as before.