“Ghosts” roam on All Souls Day!
by GUIDEPOST
RENFE (Red Nacional de Ferrocarriles Españoles or National Network of Spanish Railroads) posted an all-time record of number of passengers and ticket sales in just one day last Friday 28 October 2016 upon reaching 126,182 passengers on its Long Distance and AVE High Speed trains. Friday marked the beginning of the long weekend that will last till 1 November to celebrate All Saints Day (the equivalent of Halloween). The last record was set at 125,898 passengers on 3 April 2015.
Last Friday’s ticket sales amounted to €5.89 million, breaking the past record of 13 May this year by nearly €330,000.
All Saints Day is a national public holiday in Spain and, traditionally, it is a time when the Spaniards return to their hometowns from wherever they may have set up their residences to pray for their dead and reunite with their families.
All over Spain, in these summery autumn days, there’s a festive air which seems to come from the growing confidence of the Spanish people in their country’s economic recovery and encourages them to travel more than they used to when they were being hit hard from all directions by the economic crisis.
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Images
Featured Image (ghost train) by Gerry via Flickr, CC-BY.2.0
Renfe train 2 by Eldelinux, CC BY2.0
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