Are the AVE high-speed trains between Spain and France finally getting moving?

Update: November 21, 2013: It has now been confirmed that the route will indeed start on December 15 with tickets available from the end of November.

According to a RTVE report today, Ana Pastor, the minister for public works and transport, has indicated that the high-speed train link between Barcelona and Paris could start operating on December 15. There has not yet been any official announcement, however, so don’t pop those Cava and Champagne corks just yet.

There will be two trains a day and the journey will take six and a quarter hours. Renfe, the Spanish rail company, has also confirmed there will be daily services between Barcelona and Lyon, Barcelona and Toulouse and Madrid and Marseille, although starting dates are not yet known.