The snow-capped foothills of the Pyrenees are in the far distance, framed by my picture window against a foreground of olive trees and open countryside. The menu in my hand, as I settle down with a glass of fino sherry in a wide, comfy seat, promises green salad with cured duck breast, mango and poppy seeds. A set of small, green digital figures above the compartment door mark 301km/h (187m/h).

I am travelling Club Class in one of Spain's high-speed AVE trains, in a style that Monocle Magazine recently referred to as "the best first class rail development" of the year.

I'm bound for various interesting work assignments, but I'm most excited about trying the latest offering from the growing AVE network - a direct service from Seville to Barcelona in five and a half hours. That's a 516 mile, as-the-crow-flies trip - roughly the same as, say, London to Aberdeen. I have booked ahead, so my hours of pampering on this stretch of the trip cost a modest €96.

After 18 years hopping from one Spanish airport to another I am now a self-confessed AVE addict. The hassle of crowded, out-of-town airports like Barcelona or Madrid becomes more nightmarish as the ease of getting on a train increases. The AVE has put the pleasure back into travel. It can now take me from Madrid to a dozen of Spain's main - and not so main - cities at speeds that top 300km/h. Train trips to Cordoba, Valladolid, Segovia, Toledo, Girona, Tarragona and Zaragoza now take much less time than by air. I have even been to tiny Huesca - a short hop from some of Spain's best ski slopes - in under two and half hours. The airplane still wins (though only just) in both time and price on trips to Barcelona, Seville and Malaga, but that is easily made up for by the gain in comfort and ease. Spaniards have voted with their wheely-bags. They are flocking back to railway stations.

Watching the Spanish countryside speed past like a never-ending roll of film, I occasionally see the old (meaning last year's) railway lines snaking their way around rocky outcrops and hills. My AVE is flying in a straight line, bludgeoning its way through tunnels and cuttings. Spain has been unabashed about the way it has rolled out these lines. Most cut straight through open countryside, giving you an unusual tour through some of the more remote bits of Spain.

There are tantalising views. Villages, castles, hillside chapels and cortijo farmhouses speed into sight, spark the imagination, and then rush out of view just as quickly. They are the sort of places that I would never see had the engineers not decided to put the tracks here. I have even come to recognise some of the landmarks along the lines from Madrid to Seville (the first route, which opened 17 years ago) and to Barcelona (just over a year old); an abandoned seminary here; a tiny village tucked into a valley there; or, even, the almond groves that blossom pinky-white in Tarragona in March.

The network is still really in its infancy. Another 9,000 kilometres are to be laid in a decade, with links into Portugal and France. It will be Europe's biggest high-speed network, putting 90% of Spaniards within 30 miles of a station.

I am not the only one to be impressed. Barack Obama's transport secretary, Ray LaHood, was on one of the AVEs the other day - no doubt wondering how he could get them going across the USA.

He was in Club, like me, but I'm guessing he didn't need to book ahead in order to bag a discounted fare. Then again, although I'm a sucker for the pampering, it doesn't really matter where you sit to get the best bits - you get the same views in the cheap seats, and at half the price.

• For timetables and fare information see renfe.es. Alternatively, see the Spain page at Seat61.com