Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Mark Nayler
“Spain receives much well-deserved praise for its rail network, the second-largest in the world after China’s, with around 4,000 kilometers (2,485 miles) of high-speed track. Rail travel in the Iberian country now accounts for 56% of all travel, more than road and air combined, with high-speed services connecting over fifty Spanish cities. In 2009, then-US President Barack Obama credited the 470-kilometer (292-mile) line linking Madrid to the southern city of Seville — the country’s first high-speed service, opened in 1992 — as one of the inspirations for creating a network of comparable efficiency across America. But after four incidents in less than a week, public trust in Spain’s world-class network has been shaken.” (02/06/26)