Who said that train travel is only good for sleeping, looking out the window or watching TV series marathons? Now, passengers on the TGV connecting Paris and Barcelona have a very original alternative to shorten the almost seven-hour journey: free Catalan classes on board. Yes, you read that right. The high-speed train has suddenly become a unique language academy.
This initiative, the result of a collaboration between the Institut Ramon Llull and the railway company SNCF Voyageurs, recently started as a pilot test and plans to offer around twenty sessions until the end of the year. The aim is clear: to ensure that travelers and tourists arrive in Catalonia with a basic knowledge of the language and, incidentally, with a little cultural background.
A surprising lack of knowledge
The genesis of this project is no accident. According to a study carried out by SNCF Voyageurs, approximately 30% of French people have never heard of Catalan and a similar percentage did not know that the language was co-official with Spanish in Barcelona. These data, which reveal a certain lack of knowledge of the Catalan linguistic reality, were the trigger for the action.
The head of communication for SNCF’s TGV Inoui, Sébastien Gaussot, emphasized that the company feels “ambassador of the destination” and that is why they see it as “normal” to present the language and the region to their travelers. The goal, he explained, is to “promote a more conscious tourism, which values linguistic diversity and cultural heritage”.
Express and very practical lessons
The sessions, taught by professors from the Institut Ramon Llull such as Jordi de la Vega, are completely improvised, are given in the bar car (the ideal place for relaxed learning) and last about 10 to 15 minutes. They teach basic expressions, as well as notions of culture, gastronomy and monuments.
Passengers are warned over the loudspeaker and with informative leaflets. The interest is diverse: from travelers who are surprised to learn that two languages are spoken in Catalonia and want to “know a little more”, to Catalan speakers who take the opportunity to practice. Even honeymooners have taken a few minutes out of their trip to learn the basics. Each student also takes home a short list to continue practicing.
The company has already proposed to evaluate the results of this pilot test to expand and consolidate the service from 2026 and, if all goes well, each train can have a teacher on board daily, thus making the rail journey a real gateway to Catalan culture.