The train in Spain
September 10th, 2004
Today you join me on a train heading north out of Malaga. I’m excited because the weather is terrific here (and terrible back home); the travelling is an adventure; and most of all because we’re heading to Cordoba, which is where my sister lives.
The original plan was to spend 10 days in Spain including some beach time, but in an uncharacteristic fit of maturity we realised that the house really did need some attention, and so the vacation truncated to a weekend.
Right now this feels like a very stupid decision.
Anyway, I’m sitting here in air-conditioned comfort and it strikes me that there are some worthy comparisons to make between this train and that of my daily commute, the Thameslink. And just to dispel any suspense you may be starting to feel, let me make it clear from the outset that the comparison is not going to favour the UK.
Here’s a quick look at the most obvious differences:
- The seats here are actually comfortable. Thameslink seats are engineered to contour in an equal, but exactly opposite way to my neck, thus affording the least possible degree of comfort. Additionally, today my backside is refreshingly free of any kind of dampness. Cynics may ascribe this to an above-average level of continence on my part, but I prefer to think that it’s the air conditioning. Either way, no matter, since the Thameslink equivalent to air-con is an open window.
- The ceilings are high in these carriages. This means that it’s airy and less claustrophobic, and there’s ample space for the TV’s which are inset into the ceiling…
- Which brings me neatly to the subject of in-journey entertainment. Usually for me this amounts to the headlines on someone else’s newspaper. In contrast, today my fellow travellers appear to be enjoying a documentary on the ecology of Namibia. I haven’t joined them, but if I wanted to I could listen-in with the complimentary headphones (brand new and sealed) which were in my seat when I boarded. Fellow UK commuters will appreciate just how mind-boggling this amenity in particular is.
- Here there be curtains! Very handy if you happen to find yourself in direct sunshine, although the tinted windows alone are controlling the glare pretty well. Of course, the graffiti tags carved into the windows of most of the trains I travel on do a similar job, and they have the added advantage of reducing the amount of South London that impinges through the glass on my delicate sensibilities.
- Today’s journey cost €16. The last inter-city journey I made (also 2.5 hours, from Kings Cross to York by GNER) was £74 - about €110. Not strictly a Thameslink comparison, I know, but I’m not feeling charitable.
So, that’s RENFE 5 Thameslink 0, which I make an away win.
And as I’m only 5 mins from Cordoba now, I’ll say adios amigos as I shut-down and haul my dry ass up and out.