From barcelona to amsterdam will cost about 50-100 bucks with luggage. Transfer to the airport costs 1-2 euros each side as both airports have excellent local t

From barcelona to amsterdam will cost about 50-100 bucks with luggage. Transfer to the airport costs 1-2 euros each side as both airports have excellent local train connectivity at regular local pricing. It takes 2 hours. With checkin and waiting hassles etc say 4. By high speed rail the same trip costs around 400, takes 12 hours and in most cases you have to transfer somewhere in Paris from one station to another by metro. There's simply no point in this. And there is no incentive for the rail companies in making this work. They fill up all their high-speed seats for in-country travel already so why bother making good deals for international through travelers? Better sell the same seat on the journey several times for a local commuter than once for long distance. For national travel you have a point, sure. In Europe national air travel is really rare. Even the biggest countries use their rail links for that. But on a European scale rail is not working at all.