Seville to Madrid

Remember that song “The Letter” by the Box Tops, in which the singer (Alex Chilton), requests a ticket for an airplane? He doesn’t have time to take a fast train, because his baby just wrote him a letter.

I was thinking about this on the fast train, “the AVE”, from Seville to Madrid. We arrived in the Seville train station at 12:15 pm, boarded the train at 12:45 pm and were due in Madrid city center at 3:20 pm: a total of 3 hours and 5 minutes from station to station. The flight time from Seville to Madrid is 1 hour and five minutes. Allow 2 hours to check in and clear security at the airport, plus an additional 30 minutes at least for the taxi ride from the airport into the center of Madrid at the other end and you are looking at a total of 3 hours and 35 minutes total. I had to conclude that if Mr. Chilton was in Seville and his baby was in Madrid, he would have got to see her sooner by taking a fast train.

It has to be said also, that although Mr. Chilton didn’t care how much money he had to spend to put his lonely days behind him, he would have saved money by taking the fast train. A non-stop flight one way from Seville to Madrid costs about $175, the one way train fare costs approximately $105.

A more patient man could make the journey in six hours by bus for about $35.

This was my first post and it got no attention whatsoever, re-discovered it and thought I would give it another outing! Prices may have changed a little.