Passengers will continue their journey on from the Eurostar to reach Madrid Madrid is set to join Paris in becoming just a train ride away from London. A new high-speed rail link run by a joint company formed of Spain’s rail operator Renfe and France’s SNCF is expected to begin service in 2012. It means the Spanish capital will only be eight hours away from St Pancras station. Passengers taking the Eurostar to Paris will change at Gare du Nord to continue their journey on to Madrid. The journey time between the two capitals is expected to be between five hours 30 minutes and six hours, depending on whether the service is direct or stops at Lyon or Barcelona. Although a flight between London and Madrid is shorter at two hours 20 minutes, several hours are added to account for airport security and travel to and from the city centres. The rail industry hopes that this development, and several others around Europe, will attract customers irritated by the hassle of plane travel and airports. Lord Adonis, the Transport Secretary, has said he believes rail travel should replace short-haul air travel as the train is seen as more environmentally friendly. Direct services to Cologne and Frankfurt from London are also expected to be on offer by 2012, with German train company Deutsche Bahn, in talks with Eurotunnel about plans to bring its trains to Britain. ADD YOUR COMMENT *Name: Company name: *Email: Comment: Remember my personal information Notify me of follow-up comments? Please enter the word you see in the image below: