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Renfe axes several Spanish train routes as competition heats up
One of the casualties is the rail connection between Andalucía and Madrid, a huge blow to southern Spain
Renfe, Spain’s national railway operator, is making significant reductions to its AVE high-speed and Alvia services starting from February 1. These changes, partly due to increased competition from Iryo and Ouigo, will affect two of the country's major corridors, notably the northwest and southern routes.
Northwest corridor changes
The Avlo service, which connects Madrid with Vigo and A Coruña, will now run only on alternate days. It will depart from Madrid at 5.08pm and return from Urzáiz at 5.59am.
Additionally, two Alvia services will no longer operate. The Alvia 4165, which left Madrid at 4pm, will stop running, as will its return from Vigo, which left at 6.45am.
The Alvia 4275, the first of the day from Madrid, will not run on Sundays and the 4354, which leaves at 1.20pm, will not run on Saturdays.
In Galicia, Renfe has also decided to slightly delay the schedule of the Alvia 4064, which links Ferrol and Madrid. It will now depart seven minutes later than planned to save travel time and provide a better service to intermediate cities.
Southern corridor changes
The AVE 2210 between Madrid and Sevilla will no longer run on Mondays and Tuesdays, except during the summer. Two trains, the 2172 and 2063, which run between Madrid and Malaga, will not operate on Tuesdays and the 2063 will not run on Wednesdays.
Renfe has also withdrawn the Intercity service from Vigo and which previously served Vigo and an Intercity train from Barcelona to Murcia.
This will come as a huge blow to southern Spain, whose connection with the capital and other central and northern cities is underwhelming at best.
Customers with tickets booked on the axed services will be able to cancel them free of charge, or be re-booked on earlier or later trains.
The reduction in the Andalucía services is in direct response to the arrival of Ouigo, a French rail company, which launched an aggressive promotional campaign in mid-December to gain market share quickly.
This, combined with the low season, has forced Renfe to redefine its strategy and scrap its least popular trains. The routes linking Madrid with Malaga and Sevilla have the highest average prices (48 and 42 euros) after the Barcelona route (52 euros), which is nearly 100 kilometres longer.
While train services within Spain are being cut left and right, Renfe has announced that it will soon put tickets on sale for its new international service between Barcelona and Toulouse in the south of France, which will start in the second quarter of the year, before summer.
Connecting Barcelona with Paris is also a key objective of the Spanish rail operator, but this has now been delayed until 2026.
Image: Renfe
