Spain’s first high-speed rail link between Barcelona and Figueras has been given a royal send off.

Prince Felipe was guest of honour along with the Catalan leader Artur Mas for the inauguration of the line which reduces the journey time to less than one hour.

Spain’s rail network ended its isolation from Europe three years ago but this express line marks a new frontier in international travel, according to Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

“This is something more than a simple railway. We are in front of one of the biggest and most ambitious infrastructure projects ever undertaken in our country. This is strategic infrastructure which is going to be a new hub of prosperity for Catalonia, the rest of Spain and the whole Europe,” said Rajoy.

Indeed, it will soon be possible to take a fast train from London in the morning, connect in Paris then get to the Catalan capital in plenty of time for dinner.

Further improvements are expected to cut journey times making it soon possible to travel from Britain to Madrid in a single day.