If one piece of Spanish infrastructure generates mixed feelings, it is the AVE high-speed railway. On one hand, we must acknowledge that high-speed rail is a milestone of modern engineering, and traveling from Madrid to Barcelona in under three hours is undoubtedly something that would have seemed like science fiction twenty years ago. But, of course, like everything in this country, the AVE has also produced controversies, delays, and, above all, a great deal of concrete.
The AVE project began with great expectations. It was going to be the connection joining all Spain, from north to south and east to west. But, as always, things did not go exactly as planned. Some lines were built with more enthusiasm than common sense, and today we have AVE stations in places where more goats pass through than passengers. Mind you, the stations are impressive, gleaming marble and all, even if a train comes only once a day… if it comes at all.
And then there are the airports. At some point in recent decades, someone decided that Spain needed more airports, although air traffic did not entirely justify them. That is how we ended up with genuine ghost airports, such as the famous Castellón Airport, where there was not a single aircraft for years—although the runway was immaculate. This kind of infrastructure has attracted ridicule and criticism, but also reflects that national obsession with building, even when we are not always entirely sure what for.