A one way ticket from Barcelona to Madrid is more than 100 euros, which is much more expensive than in the rest of Western Europe. It is even more expensive than the Eurostar, which required to dig a massive tunnel under the sea.
I am wondering if somebody knows the economical reason for this.
Generally speaking, train travel on high speed trains is luxury travel. For budget travel in Europe, take the plane. Or the bus if you have time. Neither planes nor buses are as comfortable and convenient as modern high speed trains.
The economic explanation is related to the following points:
The price is determined by supply and demand.
Turnover is the number of passengers times the price they pay. If you have fewer customers, you will need higher prices to achieve the same goal.
In the case of the Eurostar, there has been and there still is a fierce competition: trains, planes, ferries. As a result of this competition, a lot of ferry routes have been closed after the opening of the Tunnel. The Eurostar also has a huge catchment area. Just look at Paris and London. In terms of inhabitants that's nearly half Spain! Add Brussels, parts of Belgium, the Netherlands and the Lille region. Don't forget that the tunnel is not used and paid for by Eurostar alone. There are also the shuttles for cars, trucks and buses.
In the case of Spain there is less competition. What's the alternative? The distances are rather long and buses slow. The plane? The airports are out the cities and the quality of Iberia & co ... umm, well ... And as I said above, the catchment area is smaller for these AVE trains. And don't forget, the infrastructure had to be built too in Spain!
There are political reasons behind this and I believe that this isn't the appropriate website to discuss this.
Anyway, you can find cheaper rail and air tickets for the BCN-MAD route. Try with Rumbo for instance. This website returns prices for airlines and Renfe trains. I've tested for you some dates and you can fly for less than 30 euros and go by train for less than 40 euros. For example, on february 21th go by air is 27 euros (Vueling) and go by rail is 32 euros (renfe).
So, the response is: going by high speed train is very expensive but "slow" train has a reasonable price.
I've travelled by train in many countries in Europe, and I can say that the Spanish AVE is the most luxurious train I've ever been on.
It's very fast, the railway and the trains are very new, and travelling conditions are good. For example, at the AVE, you get a 100% refund if the train runs more than 5 minutes late. Try that at the TGV in France or the ICE in Germany. However, chances are very low that you will get your money back. I don't remember the source right now, but reliability is more than 99%, far higher than any other high-speed train.
So, in short: you get what you pay for.
A cheaper alternative between Madrid and Barcelona is to take the night train. It departs Madrid 22.30, arrives Barcelona 7.05, and appears to cost around €45 for an adult in Turista class. I'm not sure if that is with or without night accommodation.
