By By Anne Sewell Nov 21, 2013 in Travel Barcelona - Anyone wishing to travel between Barcelona in Spain and Paris, France will be pleased to hear that things will be getting quite a bit faster, as a new AVE high-speed train is about to launch. According to Spanish transport minister, Ana Pastor at a press conference on Wednesday: "Technicians are in the process of doing compatibility checks [on the lines] and if all goes well, the first train should depart on December 15th." It seems rumors had been going around that the launch of a twice-daily service between the two major cities had been put back to 2014, but now Spanish rail service Renfe and SCNF in France hope to make an official announcement on November 27. Currently, anyone traveling from Barcelona to Paris has to switch trains in Figueras, which delays things but that will now all change. While 6 hours and 40 minutes sounds good for the journey, it is set to change once the section of track between Perpignan and Nîmes is brought up to high-speed status, making an even better travel time of just 5 hours 35 minutes. However, for this kind of speed apparently travelers will have to wait until around 2021. According to Pastor, once an agreement has been finalized between Renfe and SNCF, the ticket reservation service for the Barcelona-Paris train will be opened. Apparently this is just the beginning, as in October, SNCF told Spanish news agency Efe, that they would also be establishing high speed rail links from Barcelona to Lyon, Marseilles and Toulouse by the end of 2013. From then on it will be a case of "Adios" and "Bonjour" in very short time! Hopefully running from as early as mid-December, the new high speed train service will get you from Barcelona all the way to Paris in a mere six and a half hours, making the trip an absolute pleasure.According to Spanish transport minister, Ana Pastor at a press conference on Wednesday:"Technicians are in the process of doing compatibility checks [on the lines] and if all goes well, the first train should depart on December 15th."It seems rumors had been going around that the launch of a twice-daily service between the two major cities had been put back to 2014, but now Spanish rail service Renfe and SCNF in France hope to make an official announcement on November 27. Publico (in Spanish) says that a spokesman for Renfe told the media that the joint project between the two rail providers will bring down travel times between Barcelona and Paris to 6 hours and 40 minutes, to be exact.Currently, anyone traveling from Barcelona to Paris has to switch trains in Figueras, which delays things but that will now all change.While 6 hours and 40 minutes sounds good for the journey, it is set to change once the section of track between Perpignan and Nîmes is brought up to high-speed status, making an even better travel time of just 5 hours 35 minutes. However, for this kind of speed apparently travelers will have to wait until around 2021. La Vanguardia (Spanish language) reports that Spain is doing well, however, in the high-speed rail stakes generally, as in 2010, Spain reportedly overtook France in the number of kilometers of high-speed rail installed, making it number one in Europe, and number 2 in the world, after China.According to Pastor, once an agreement has been finalized between Renfe and SNCF, the ticket reservation service for the Barcelona-Paris train will be opened.Apparently this is just the beginning, as in October, SNCF told Spanish news agency Efe, that they would also be establishing high speed rail links from Barcelona to Lyon, Marseilles and Toulouse by the end of 2013. From then on it will be a case of "Adios" and "Bonjour" in very short time! More about Spain, Barcelona, France, Paris, AVE More news from Spain Barcelona France Paris AVE Train High speed