Having recently returned from my favourite holiday destination in southern Spain, travelling by train to avoid flying, I can testify to the excellence of the Spanish rail system, as described by María Ramírez (Spain’s high-speed trains aren’t just efficient, they have transformed people’s lives, 11 October). High-speed trains arrive and leave on time, linking all major towns and cities. They are comfortable and clean, and well-trained staff are in attendance at all times. It is difficult not to be envious, and tempting to see a high-speed rail system as the answer to all our transport woes.
Looking out of the window as the train flies through the Spanish countryside, however, it is also difficult not to be struck by the huge difference between this landscape and ours. Endless miles of vineyards, olive groves or wild and unproductive terrain are unencumbered by urban development. It is not easy, nor necessarily appropriate, to transfer a network of this kind to our small and densely populated island, with its remaining pockets of precious habitats.
