Spain has launched a new low-fare, high-speed rail line that connects passengers from Madrid to Barcelona with prices starting from just €10 (US $11) each way.
Spain's new low-cost rail line will commence services in April, offering passengers an average discount of 60% on fares between Madrid and Barcelona compared to the cost of the existing high-speed AVE trains (whose one-way tickets start from €32.30/US$35.60). The new line is known as AVLO, from the national rail company Renfe, and tickets will be priced between €10 and €60 (US$66) per journey, depending on the route and time of travel. Travellers under the age of 14, who are accompanied by an adult, will pay just €5 (US$5.51).
To celebrate the launch of the AVLO train, Renfe launched a promotion on Monday, offering 1000 tickets per day priced at just €5, available to all passengers. According to El País, the website received over 1.5 million visits in the first hour. The promotion will run until Wednesday, 5 February 2020 with 1000 tickets available each day for travel between 6 April and 31 August, including peak travel times of Semana Santa (Holy Week/Easter) and summer.
The high-speed AVLO service will offer three daily trains each way between Madrid and Barcelona, Spain's busiest travel route. One is a direct service with a journey time of 2.5 hours and the other two services will stop in Zaragoza. Another service will be added later in the year, with a fifth planned for September.
El País reports that AVLO will operate in a similar fashion to low-cost airlines with some extra charges added on to the ticket fee. So while AVLO tickets are cheaper than the AVE service, passengers will have to pay for luggage fees (except for handbags and hand luggage).
