High Speed train cuts the time between Valencia and Madrid

Spain hurtled past France as Europe's high speed rail leader last month when it opened a 6.6-billion-euro line from Madrid to Valencia, banking on a boost to the economy.

The 438-kilometre route, which opened on December 19, slashes travel time between the Spanish capital and the Mediterranean port of Valencia, Spain's third-biggest city, from four hours to just 90 minutes.

The project, built at a cost of 6.6 billion euros ($A8.6 billion), brings Spain's high-speed rail network to 2056 kilometres.

Advertisement: Story continues below It places Spain ahead of the 1896 kilometres of high speed rail in France and 1285 kilometres in Germany, home to Siemens, the world's largest manufacturer of high-speed trains.

Spain's high-speed train service, known as Alta Velocidad Espanola (AVE), boasts trains with noses shaped like a duck-billed platypus moving at speeds of up to 300 kph.