The majority of that will be in France, probably good trains and indifferent staff! If you board a train in France make sure you have validated your ticket at the stamping machine (composter) on the platform first (passes may not need to be done but there's no harm in stamping any reservation tickets). Catering on French trains is now a bit limited, most TGVs have it for most of the day but it's no better than you'd get on British intercity and no cheaper - so you may be wise to stock up before getting on. Long distance tickets usually come with fixed reservations and even if you have a flexible ticket you have to change the reservation before boarding a different train. Passes holders will probably have to get reservations for long distance trains.

Spanish trains are actually quite good but many different types, some have access rules. High speed services may require a security check before boarding (so allow time) but I'm guessing you won't be using any of them being so close to the border. For long distance they have a bewildering fare system, not only do prices change for different types of train but the long distance high speed services can change price depending on loadings (like airlines). As with France you'll probably need a reservation to get on a long distance service.

The big confusion on this journey may be timetables for the border crossings. The reason is a bit complicated and I've already typed it out in the middle of this thread http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=143885&p=1444953&hilit=spain+france+rail#p1444953

And as with Britain, long distance journeys are better not done on Friday or Sunday afternoon/evenings!

We are doing the elipsos train overnight from Paris to Barcelona so no travelling on the TGV's for us x

In that case see http://www.elipsos.com/htm/default.htm?lang=3 , there is a virtual tour video of the train. This is one of the few services that actually crosses the border as the axles can be changed to overcome the track difference, that should wake you up at about 05:45 !! It uses Franca station in Barcelona which is quite an impressive building and also start of the regional express trains to Salou. The long distance services that call at Salou start at Sants station. The RENFE website has got the Engish pages working again but other than the maps and timetables there isn't much of use for Catalonia regional services http://www.renfe.com/EN/viajeros/mediadistancia/mapas_y_trayectos/Catalunya.html

Thanks for all the information Steve , think we have it all sorted and we know how to get to Salou from Barcelona.

Has anyone ever done this journey before?