A HIGH-SPEED train covering the trip from Madrid to Paris will be on track by 2012.

The central government has announced that the line will link up to the Eurostar station in Paris, meaning passengers can travel on to London without having to cross the city by metro.

As a result, there will be a direct public transport link from Madrid to the UK within less than three years.

Plans have been approved between Spain's president, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, and French minister François Fillon.

The rail-link will be jointly managed by the RENFE – Spain's railway board – and the SNCF, that of France, although the resulting company's head office will be in Spain.

RENFE intends to invest 300 million euros in the project, which will be the ideal solution for British expats in Spain who hate flying but wish to return to the UK to see their families.

Additionally, the Spanish and French governments have agreed to invest a total of 108 million euros into the high-speed train-line from Figueres (Girona) to Perpignan, providing a coastal link between the two countries by rail.