Barcelona has used the train for the first time this season to travel for a match. At 5:50 p.m. the Blaugrana expedition left on the railway from track five of Sants station bound for Madrid, where this Sunday they will play against Getafe. On this occasion, Barça has opted for this much more sustainable method of transport to raise awareness about environmental protection.
It is a novelty for the Barcelona footballers, who had traveled by coach to Girona and Vila-real. “It is a matter of environmental pollution. We haven't done it before because the journeys were longer”, reflected the first team coach, Xavi Hernández.
The European Environment Agency considers that the high-speed train is the cleanest transport since, on average, it generates 15.8 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer. A much lower figure than the 101 of a national flight, as explained in October 2022 in an in-depth report in La Vanguardia.
The time of the match also influences FC Barcelona's decision. Barça faces Getafe on Sunday at 4:15 p.m., so they can rest tonight in Madrid from the journey and return after the game on another charter train, which will leave Atocha at 8:15 p.m. “It is the ideal day to do it. We will sleep there, we will rest and then we will not return at dawn. We are open to this type of news”
The train trip will last 2 hours and a half, a period longer than any flight for a duel in the League. But the fatigue will be mitigated by being able to rest tonight at the concentration hotel in Madrid.
Barça footballers have even used the helicopter to get to a game this year. It was in the round of 16 of the Cup that they faced Ceuta. To cross the Strait of Gibraltar, the blaugrana boarded several helicopters in Algeciras that took them to Ceuta.
In the past, Barcelona traveled by train more frequently, such as when traveling to Castelló (to play against Villarreal) or Zaragoza. In two days, on April 26, Barcelona once again have to travel to Madrid to visit Rayo Vallecano. But the time at that time, at 10 p.m., will not make traveling by train easier.
